WATERLOO, Iowa ? The Kentucky men?s cross country team will take on 30 teams from around the country on Monday, Nov. 24, at the NCAA Championships in Waterloo, Iowa. The Cats, who are ranked 28th in the country according to the latest Mondo Division I Cross Country poll, will compete at 12 p.m. EST at the Irv Warren Golf Course.
The Cats are led by senior Thomas Morgan, who is taking consecutive wins at the Southeastern Conference Championships and the NCAA Southeast Regional into the 10k race Monday. With a time of 29:56.2, Morgan recorded the fastest time of anyone in the SEC in their respective NCAA Regional competitions last weekend and posted the 10th-fastest time from around the country.
?I feel really strong with everything, my training, the races? I feel that I haven?t really maximized my potential yet and I feel that it would be a perfect time to do it Monday,? Morgan said.
The Cats will also be relying on the core of runners that helped them finish second out of 23 teams at the regional. Nick Devenport, David Freeman and Hunter Spencer all boasted top-20 performances last Saturday, as Devenport came in an impressive 12th, Freeman finished not far behind with a 15th-place time and Spencer came in 20th. Freshman John Richardson also fared well in his first post-season appearance with a 47th-place finish.
The UK men have finished in the top 25 of the NCAA Championships as a team only three times. The highest performance for the Cats came in 1988, when UK came in eighth place. The Cats have only had four individuals claim top-25 individual finishes, and no competitor for Kentucky has ever finished above 13th place.
Monday?s race will feature the second time this season the Cats have competed at the Irv Warren Golf Course, as Morgan led all UK runners earlier this season with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Pre-Nationals, which were also held in Waterloo, Iowa. Morgan will also compete in the race as the 2003 USCCCA Southeast Athlete of the Year, which he was named Saturday night at the NCAA Pre-Championship Banquet at the University of Northern Iowa, the host school of the championships. UK Coach Don Weber was also recognized at the ceremony as Southeast Region Coach of the Year.
Results from the meet will be available Monday afternoon at , and this web site.
