Sept. 21, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Following second place finishes by both the men’s and women’s teams to start the season at the Belmont Opener, the University of Kentucky men’s and women’s cross country teams will return to action Saturday at the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational in Earlysville, Va.
The women will hit the course first with a 5K race at 10:00 a.m. ET, followed by the men’s 8K event at 10:30 a.m. The men’s field features No. 22 Arkansas, California, Duke, Howard, Kentucky, No. 21 Michigan, Norfolk Sate, No. 4 Oklahoma, VCU, and Virginia. The eight-team women’s field is made up of California, Howard, Kentucky, Liberty, Norfolk State, VCU, No. 15 Virginia and Wisconsin.
Senior Luis Orta starred in the Wildcats opening competition, claiming another victory in his cross country career and finishing the 5K event in 15:16.70. Orta’s first-place finish marked a third consecutive year that Orta has won the opening meet for the Wildcats, winning the Belmont-VU Opener in 2011 after winning the San Francisco Invitational to open the 2010 season.
With top-three finishes from Cally Macumber and Chelsea Oswald, the women finished just one point off first with 34 points at the Belmont Opener. Macumber’s second-place finish came in at 14:11.10, while Oswald finished in third after finishing the 4K event in 14:25.60.
In 2011, led by Orta’s fifth-place finish, the Kentucky men’s team earned a fourth-place finish with 119 points at the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational. The women’s team finished seventh last season, with Megan Broderick, Anna Bostrom and Taylor Wendler all earning top-30 finishes
The women’s team enters their second event of the year ranked as the No. 7 team in the Southeast Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association while the men come in at 15th in the Southeast Region.
Following the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational, Kentucky will compete in two events in Louisville, Ky., to finish up the regular season. The Wildcats will compete in the Greater Louisville Classic on Sept. 29, before competing in Pre-Nationals on Oct. 13.
