Sept. 17, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky cross country team, led by Luis Orta and Chelsea Oswald, heads to Bronx, N.Y., for the 16th Annual Br. John “Paddy” Doyle Meet of Champions for the first time since 2008, on Saturday.
The meet, hosted by Iona College, will be run at historic Van Cortland Park. The women will run a six-kilometer course and will start things off at 9:30 a.m. ET followed by the men at 10:15 a.m. ET, running eight kilometers.
The field consists of 19 men’s teams and 18 women’s teams with several holding regional rankings. On the men’s side, host Iona boasts the highest regional ranking at No. 2 in the northeast followed closely by Columbia who ranks fourth in the northeast. The Kentucky men’s team currently ranks 11th in the southeast region. The women’s side shows off four top-six squads from their respective regions, including Kentucky who sits sixth in the southeast. The other three teams are Harvard, Iona and Columbia who rank fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the northeast region.
Both Kentucky squads are coming off second-place finishes in San Francisco two weekends ago. Orta finished atop the men’s field for his first individual championship and for the women, Oswald finished second behind California’s Chelsea Reilly, who tied the course record.
Also having a strong performance in the last meet for the men was Walter Lutrell, who ran a very good race to finish fifth with a time of 25:06. Kentucky added two other top-15 finishers, junior Josh Nadzam and freshman Stacey Eden. Nadzam finished in 13th position with a time of 25:24 making it the best 8k time of his career. Eden, in his first event as a Wildcat, had an impressive debut finishing fourth on the team and 15th overall in a time of 25:27.
In addition to Oswald, on the women’s side, three other Kentucky women climbed into the top-10 with freshmen Taylor Wendler atop of that list. Wendler and fellow freshman Anna Bostrom, in their first collegiate competition, finished seventh and eighth, respectively. Sophomore Cally Macumber was just behind in ninth with a time of 18:11.
For the men, Orta, Walter Lutrell, Josh Nadzam, Stacey Eden, Adam Kahleifeh, Matt Wagner, Colin Heenan, Matt Hillenbrand, Peter Coffey, Trent Halasek and Robert Scharold, listed by their finish last meet, will make their second trip of the year. Junior Sharif Webb will also be traveling making his first appearance for the Cats this season. For the women, Oswald, Taylor Wendler, Anna Bostrom, Cally Macumber, Allison Peare, Hiruni Wijayaratne and Suzanne Holt, also listed by their finish last meet, will make the trip. In addition, Amanda Whowell will compete for the first time this year.
