Oct. 31, 2009
OXFORD, Miss. – Four Kentucky harriers earned honors at the Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships as the UK men placed seventh and the Wildcat women eighth finished in poor running conditions on a wet University of Mississippi Golf Course in Oxford, Miss., Saturday.
For the second time this season, freshman Luis Orta led the UK men to the finish, completing the 8K course in 25:12 to place 13th overall and earn All-SEC Second Team accolades. Junior Adam Henken clocked in at 25:29 to finish second on the team and 20th overall. First-year runner Matt Sonnenfeldt placed 31st overall in a time of 26:02. Orta and Sonnenfeldt both earned conference All-Freshman team honors as a result of their finishes.
Sophomore Matt Wagner continued his streak of scoring in each meet this season by finishing 42nd in a time of 26:31. Freshman Tyler Dickinson rounded out the scoring for the Cats in 48th place, stopping the clock at 26:53. UK totaled 152 points overall to finish seventh overall.
On the 6K women’s course, first-year runner Chelsea Oswald was the first Wildcat across the finish line for the second time this season, placing 14th overall to claim All-SEC Second Team recognition. Oswald completed the course in 21:56. Classmate Cally Macumber clocked in at 22:16 to place 19th overall. As a result of their top finishes, Oswald and Macumber both notched All-Freshman team awards from the league.
Fellow freshman Samantha Norman ran at a clip of 22:47 to finish 38th in the conference. Another first-year runner placed fourth for the Cats as Amanda Whowell crossed the finish in 23:18; good for 53rd overall. Junior Katherine Peterson was the final scorer for UK in the 59th spot running a mark of 23:28. The Wildcats tallied 175 points to finish eighth in the SEC.
“Luis Orta and Chelsea Oswald both ran solid races to earn All-SEC Second Team honors as freshmen,” said UK assistant coach for cross country and distance John Mortimer. “Cally Macumber and Matt Sonnenfeldt also ran well to attain All-SEC Freshman honors in along with Orta and Oswald.
“I was impressed with their composure in negotiating a difficult and sloppy course against some of the toughest competition in the country. At the SEC Championships, it only takes one subpar performance to compromise a team score. Unfortunately, both of our squads came up just a little short at the final scoring positions.”
Alabama won its second straight men’s title with 56 points while Florida clinched the women’s championship scoring 24 points by placing all five scorers in the top 10.
The Wildcats return to compete in the Bluegrass state in two weeks at the NCAA Southeast Regional hosted by the University of Louisville in the Derby City’s E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park.
Click UKathletics.com for all of the latest Kentucky cross country news.
