Men's Cross Country Finishes Third at NCAA Southeast Regional

Saturday, November 11

E.P. SAWYER PARK

11:00 AM

University of Louisville

at NCAA Southeast Regional

UofL sophomore Cory Thorne finished fourth at Saturday's NCAA Southeast Regional.

Men's Cross Country Finishes Third at NCAA Southeast Regional

November 11, 2006 | Cross Country

Nov. 11, 2006

Results

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's cross country team had five runners earn All-Region honors as the 26th-ranked Cardinals narrowly missed on their first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA Championships with a third-place finish at Saturday's NCAA Southeast Regional hosted by UofL and the Greater Louisville Sports Commission at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park in Louisville.

With the top two teams earning automatic bids to the national championships later this month, the Cards' 80 points were not enough as defending region champion William & Mary earned second place with 70 points, while No. 8 ranked North Carolina State won the regional title with 64 points. No. 25 Virginia was third with 131 points, while Clemson was fifth in the field of 32 teams with 201 points. The third-place finish for the Cardinal men is the program's best ever finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional, and UofL should be among the teams receiving serious consideration for one of 13 at-large bids to the NCAA Championships.

Leading the way for the Cardinal men was sophomore Cory Thorne, a two-time All-BIG EAST performer, with a strong fourth-place finish overall in the field of 222 runners with a time of 30 minutes, 31 seconds across the 10,000-meter course. Eastern Kentucky's Jacob Korir won the individual title with a time of 30:03.10.

"I'm pretty happy with the way I ran today and with how our team finished," said Thorne. "We really wanted to get that automatic bid, but it was still a great finish for us. We'd love the opportunity to compete at the national championships on Nov. 20."

Joining Thorne as an All-Region performer was UofL junior Wesley Korir, a 2005 All-Region runner, with an 11th-place time of 30:57.05 on a wet and soggy Saturday afternoon. Junior Soimo Kiplagat finished 18th overall with a time of 31:12.65, followed by freshman Michael Eaton in 22nd with a time of 31:31.15 and sophomore Ryan Byrne was 25th at 31:37.20. The top 25 individual finishers earn All-Region honors.

"We knew that there were four teams on the men's side that had a shot of getting out in those top two positions," said UofL head coach Ron Mann. "Of course, I would've liked to have been in second, but I think we should be in good shape for an at-large bid and the program's first-ever bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. I'm very happy for our men's team because we had some guys step up today and run very well. Cory Thorne, Soimo Kiplagat and Michael Eaton ran big races for us."

A total of 31men's teams and 31 women's teams will earn bids to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, set for Nov. 20 in Terre Haute, Ind., with 18 of those going to the top two finishers at each of the nine regional championships run on Saturday. The final 13 positions in the men's and women's championship events will be filled with at-large selections based on points scored against other championship caliber squads. The field of teams and individuals for the national championship meet will be released on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET at www.ncaasports.com.

In the women's race, Tarah McKay continued her impressive freshman season for the Cards with a 15th-place finish in the field of 215 runners with a time of 21:09.55 across the 6,000-meter course. Overall, the Cardinal women were 14th with 373 points, while No. 2 North Carolina State won the women's title with 61 points, and No. 14 Duke clinched the final automatic bid with second place and 70 points overall. No. 26 Virginia Tech was third with 83 points, followed by No. 22 Virginia in fourth with 109 points and Wake Forest in fifth with 164 points.

"I'm pretty happy with how I raced today," said McKay. "I knew the competition would be very similar to what I saw at the BIG EAST Championships, so I expected to get the same type of finish. I think our team has a very bright future, and it was easy to see how much we improved as the season went on."

Also scoring points for the Cardinal women were freshman Kelsey Page in 65th at 22:20.85, freshman Kortni Dukes in 79th at 22:29.95, junior Sarah Weir in 107th at 23:02.85 and freshman Kim Grieshaber in 113th at 23:08.50.

"I'm very happy with the way Tarah performed today," Mann said. "We had hoped to get a Top 10 finish for our women's team, but this is still a good showing for such a young group that has four freshmen in the top five positions."

Up next, the Cardinal men's team and women's runner Tarah McKay will await the official release of the at-large team and individual bids to the NCAA Championships.

NCAA Southeast Regional ChampionshipLouisville, Ky. - E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park - Nov. 11, 2006Men: 10,000m / Women: 6,000m
MENS RESULTS (32 Teams)1.  No. 8 N.C. State    64 points2.  William & Mary  70 points3.  No. 26 LOUISVILLE   80 points4.  No. 25 Virginia 131 points5.  Clemson     201 points6.  Virginia Tech   235 points7.  Liberty     237 points8.  Eastern Kentucky    257 points9.  Duke        309 points10. Wake Forest 335 points
U of L Men's Individual Finishers (Field of 222)4.  Cory Thorne    30:31.0011. Wesley Korir  30:57.0518. Soimo Kiplagat  31:12.6522. Michael Eaton    31:31.1525. Ryan Byrne  31:37.2029. Wes Seacat  31:48.0536. Matt Smith  31:57.75
WOMENS RESULTS (32 Teams)1.  No. 2 N.C. State    61 points2.  No. 14 Duke 70 points3.  No. 26 Virginia Tech    83 points4.  No. 22 Virginia 109 points5.  Wake Forest 164 points6.  North Carolina  182 points7.  William & Mary  236 points8.  Kentucky        251 points9.  Davidson        266 points10. Coastal Carolina    284 points14. LOUISVILLE  373 points
U of L Women's Individual Finishers (Field of 215)15. Tarah McKay    21:09.5565. Kelsey Page    22:20.8579. Kortni Dukes  22:29.95107.    Sarah Weir  23:02.85113.    Kim Grieshaber  23:08.50150.    Kathryn Long  23:52.05152.    Kat Alcorn  23:58.00