LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The University of Kentucky women?s cross country team ran away from the field at the Greater Louisville Classic Saturday at E.P. ?Tom? Sawyer Park. The Cats dominated the competition by placing seven runners in the top 25. Kentucky finished with 55 points beating host Louisville in second by 48 points.
Senior Lavera Morris led the Cats crossing the line in fifth place with a time of 17:25 on the 5K course. Morris? mark was one minute and 49 seconds faster than her finish last year at the event. The performance by Morris ranks as the 11th- best time ever by a female at Louisville?s E.P. ?Tom? Sawyer Park.
Junior Jessica Ortman finished four seconds behind Morris at 17:29 to finish seventh. Improving her performance by 40 seconds from a year ago, junior Andrea Halasek ran 12th at a pace of 17:44. Louisville native Leah Ryan performed well in her hometown immediately following Halasek in 13th with a mark of 17:45. Junior Jenna Ortman rounded out the scoring for the Cats finishing at 17:55 to place 18th overall.
Junior Taylor Miller improved her time by 30 seconds at the event Saturday with a mark of 18:03, good for 23rd. Derby City native Katherine Peterson crossed the line in 25th at 18:05. The Cats’ combined time of 1:28:20 shaved off five minutes from their fifth-place time last year, pleasing the Kentucky coaching staff.
?Our women executed the race plan perfectly,? said first-year Kentucky cross country/distance Coach John Mortimer. ?Placing seven women in the top 25 at 18:05 or faster is a dominating performance.?
The men?s team finished fifth, one spot better than a year ago, while improving its time by over three minutes Saturday in the 8K race. Senior Andre? Silva finished first for Kentucky at a clip of 24:19, good for 12th overall. Junior Bruce Hordusky crossed the finish line at 24:32 to place 17th, over one minute and a half faster than his time in 2006.
?Silva and Hordusky ran well up front,? said Mortimer. ?They are looking like some of the top runners in the SEC.?
Seniors John Thompson (53rd ? 25:11), Chris Long (58th ? 25:15) and freshman Adam Henken (86th ? 25:40) powered across the line to finish the scoring for the Wildcats. Kentucky finished with 210 points, just 11 points behind fellow SEC member Tennessee, for a fifth-place team finish.
?Once our freshman crew comes along, we will be hitting on all cylinders,? said Mortimer. ?Nonetheless, this race was a great step in the team?s development.?
The nationally-ranked host Cardinals won the men?s race with a total of 58 points.
Kentucky returns to Louisville in November, when Sawyer Park serves as host of the NCAA Southeast Regional.
The Wildcats? next race is in two weeks, when they venture outside of the state for the first time, competing at the Penn State National Invitational.
