Oct. 18, 2003

Thomas Morgan led the way for Kentucky at the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Waterloo, Iowa. The former NCAA Qualifier and All-SEC performer finished in eighth place out of 245 runners in the least meet for the Cats before the SEC Championships on Nov. 3.

Morgan ran the 8,000-meter race in 23:47.1, less than 30 seconds behind first-place finisher Dathan Ritzenhein of Colorado. John Richardson was the next closest competitor for the Cats, finishing with in a time of 25:32.5. Mark Rowe and Andrew Thompson also competed for Kentucky, taking 187th and 236th, respectively.

The Kentucky women also fared well, as seniors Brooke Patterson and Caitlin Phillips both had top-25 finishes to help Kentucky to a 12th place team finish. Patterson ran the 6k at the Irv Warren Golf Course in a 19th place time of 20:58.5, while Phillips finished just two spots behind in 21:00.00. Leah Kerstetter (21:48.3), Emily King (22:06.0) and Georganne Way (23:48.5) also placed for Kentucky.

The Cats return to action at the SEC Championships on Nov. 3 in Athens, Ga.