Columbia
Pre-Nationals @ Indiana State
Columbia Cross Country Teams Make Top 20 in Pre-Nationals
10/14/2006 7:00:00 PM | General, Cross Country
Head coach Willy Wood was especially pleased with the women's team, which placed 13th of 37 with 395 points. After running a disappointing race two weeks earlier at the Notre Dame Invitational, Columbia showed signs of major improvement in its return trip to Indiana.
“I was very pleased with them,” Wood said. “They've made great progress since Notre Dame. For example, we were well behind the University of North Carolina in the Notre Dame meet, but finished ahead of them today, by a 24-point margin.”
Strength of schedule is a major determinant in teams' selection to the NCAA Championships, and Columbia vanquished some impressive teams in the Pre-Nationals, including Villanova, Oklahoma State, Washington, Washington State, Marquette and Air Force, as well as North Carolina.
Many Ivy League coaches have tended to discount the Lions' chances in the upcoming Ivy League Heptagonal Championships because of graduation losses, but they may change their tunes after the Pre-Nationals.
“We matched up well with the other Ivies out here,” he noted, citing Princeton, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale. All except Cornell competed in the Blue race at the Pre-Nationals, while the Lions and Big Red were in the White race. Both races are seeded equally.
“Individually,” Wood said, “Carmen Ballard and Shelby Leland ran terrific races. We're rounding back into who we are.” Ballard was 41st in 21:03 for the 6K course, and Leland was 69th in 21:26.
The men's team notched the final spot in the top 20, finishing 20th with 543 points, in a power-packed 36-team field. Although trailing first-place Iona, which edged Stanford, 100-106, and Princeton, 13th with 351, Columbia outpointed La Salle, Utah State, New Mexico, Boston College, Baylor and Purdue, among others.
“Our men didn't do as well as we wanted them to,” Wood noted, explaining that “this was a very tough field, a bit tougher than we expected.”
No one should scoff at 20th place, however. “Finishing 20th,” the coach said, “puts us among the top 45 or 48 in the nation, and we ran very well compared to the other Ivy League schools.”
In a clear example of the progress the Columbia men have made, their 543 points closed the gap on Villanova, which beat the Lions handily in the Paul Short Run two weeks ago, and topped Pitt's 694 points by 150. Pitt was second in the Paul Short, just ahead of Columbia.
Wood singled out four individuals who braved the 50 degree temperatures and winds that swept the course.
“Gabriel Johnston in the White race was very good, and all three of our men in the Open Race,“ he said. Johnston was 94th in 24:49.5. In the non-scoring Open Race, Zach Richard was 18th in 25:00.8, Jeff Randall was 27th in 25:10.4, and Robert Longoria was 37th in 25:15.0.
Columbia next competes in the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships at Van Cortlandt Park Friday, October 27. The first race is at 10:45 a.m.
The results (full results: http://www.indstate.edu/athletic/cross)
Pre-Nationals, La Verne Gibson Championship Course, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Ind.
Women's Race (White Race, 6K)
1. North Carolina State 117; 2. Michigan and Wisconsin 176; 4. UC Santa Barbara 196; 5. Illinois 219; 6. Colorado 228; 7. Tennessee 291; 8. Georgetown 294; 9. Iona 306; 10. Georgia 321; 11. Colorado State 323; 12. Butler 368; 13. COLUMBIA 395; 14. North Carolina 419; 15. Villanova 433 - 37 teams
1. Julia Lucas, N.C. State, 20:01.4
2. Frances Koons, Villanova, 20:08.3
3. Jenny Barringer, Colorado, 20:09.8
4. Erin Webster, Michigan, 20:10.2
5. Hanna Grinaker, Wisconsin, 20:17.7
6. McKayla Plank, Iona, 20:22.3
7. Brittany Tinsley, N.C. State, 20:23.3
8. Angela Bizzarri, Illinois, 20:25.5
9. Lauren Christman, UC Santa Barbara, 20:28.2
10. Elizabeth Maloy, Georgetown, 20:28.5
41. Carmen Ballard, 21:02.4
69. Shelby Leland, 21:25.6
87. Susan Hendrick, 21:36.3
97. Stephanie Lenihan, 21:43.1
101. Irena Ossola, 21:44.8
201. Susannah Shaw, 22:42.2
253 finishers
Men's Race (White Race, 8K)
1. Iona 100; 2. Stanford 106; 3. Florida 217; 4. Notre Dame 255; 5. Iowa 270; 6. Kansas 277; 7. Michigan 285; 8. Cal Poly 287; 9. BYU 295; 10. Washington 300; 11. No. Arizona 302; 12. Virginia 304; 13. Princeton 351; 14. Eastern Michigan 371; 15. William & Mary 433. 20. COLUMBIA 543 - 36 teams
1. Josh McDougal, Liberty, 23:14.0
2. Joseph Lomong, Northern Arizona, 23:18.7
3. Jacob Korir, Eastern Kentucky, 23:24.5
4. Neftalem Araia, Stanford, 23:29.4
5. Forest Braden, Boise State, 23:38.5
6. Micah Vandenend, Iowa, 23:39.4
7. Kurt Benninger, Notre Dame, 23:40.5
8. Abraham Ng'eitch, Iona, 23:41.9
9. Mohamed Khadroui, Iona, 23:43.1
10. Jan Foerster, Virginia, 23:44.6
94. Gabriel Johnston, 24:49.5
96. Brian Horneck, 24:50.1
97. James Bogner, 24:50.4
107. Mark Olivier, 24:53.9
154. Tyler Kastorff, 25:14.4
162. Paul Morris, 25:17.9
222. Liam Boylan-Pett, 26:11.8
246 finishers
Open Men's Race (8K) (no team scoring)
1. David Kemboi, Norfolk State, 24:07.6
18. Zach Richard, 25:00.8
27. Jeff Randall, 25:10.4
37. Robert Longoria, 25:15.0
80. Stephane Hertherington, 25:41.3
222 finishers
Players Mentioned
