Cardinal Men Finish 15th at NCAA Cross Country Championships

Monday, November 20

Terre Haute, Ind.

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

at NCAA Championships

Cardinal Men Finish 15th at NCAA Cross Country Championships

November 20, 2006 | Cross Country

Nov. 20, 2006

Results

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The 25th-ranked University of Louisville men's cross country team closed out the 2006 season with an impressive 15th-place finish at the NCAA Championships on Monday afternoon at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind.

Leading the way for the Cards in their first ever appearance at the national championship event was sophomore Cory Thorne with a 62nd-place time of 32 minutes, 10 seconds across the wet and soggy 10,000-meter course at the Wabash Family Sports Center. Overall, the Cardinal men scored 458 points to edge No. 7 ranked and 16th-place finishing North Carolina State with 469 points. Second-ranked Colorado won its second team national title in three years and its third overall with 94 points to lead the field of 31 teams. Top-ranked Wisconsin was second with 142 points followed by No. 4 Iona in third with 172 points, No. 6 Stanford in fourth with 195 points and No. 5 Oregon and No. 3 Arkansas tied for fifth with 196 points each.

"We're extremely proud of where this program has come in such a short period of time," said UofL head coach Ron Mann. "We're so happy for our kids because they've worked extremely hard to get to this point. I want to give a lot of credit and thanks to our senior captain Wes Seacat for his leadership and to assistant coach Brice Allen. I also want to thank our great fans who made the trip up here to support this team. This is something very strong for us to build on."

Joining Thorne as point scorers for the Cards was junior Wesley Korir in 93rd with a time of 32:31.6, junior Soimo Kiplagat in 112th at 32:42.1, freshman Michael Eaton in 139th at 32:57.9 and freshman Ryan Byrne in 202nd at 33:45.6. Also competing for UofL was senior Wes Seacat in 219th at 34:04.6 and freshman Scott McClain in 222nd at 34:09.9.

"This completes a truly special season for the University of Louisville cross country program and it should be a springboard into the future for us," said Mann, who led the UofL program to its first NCAA Championship appearance only 27 months after being introduced as head coach. "For this team to earn a Top 15 finish in the program's first appearance at the national championships shows the commitment and dedication of each and every runner on our team. I'm so proud of the way they handled the pressure of the competing in the spotlight of the NCAA Championships."

The 2006 Cardinals are the 17th men's team Mann has led to the NCAA Cross Country Championships and the 29th overall. And in those 17 appearances at the men's national championships, Mann's teams at UofL and Northern Arizona have 13 Top 15 finishes, including two national runner-up finishes. In 2006, the Cardinal men's program earned its first ever Top 20 national ranking, its best ever finish at an NCAA regional and its first NCAA Championships bid.

On the women's side, freshman Tarah McKay closed out a highly impressive season with 106th-place finish in the field of 253 runners with a time of 22:11.60 across the 6,000-meter course. Texas Tech's Sally Kipyego dominated the field with a time of 20:11.1 to win the individual title and finish more than 26 seconds in front of second place Jenny Barringer from Colorado.

"This was a great experience for Tarah and something she can really build on for the next three years," Mann said. "She's had a wonderful season and she will be a big part of the future success of our women's cross country program at UofL."

Mann and the Cards will now turn their focus to the indoor track and field season, which will open on Dec. 9 at the Fast Start Invitational in Carbondale, Ill.

NCAA ChampionshipsTerre Haute, Ind. - LaVern Gibson Championship Course - Nov. 20, 2006Men: 10,000m / Women: 6,000m
MENS RESULTS (31 Teams)1.  No. 2 Colorado  94 points2.  No. 1 Wisconsin 142 points3.  No. 4 Iona  172 points4.  No. 6 Stanford  195 points5.  No. 5 Oregon    196 points    No. 3 Arkansas  196 points7.  No. 16 Texas    246 points8.  No. 21 William & Mary   292 points9.  No. 11 Providence   293 points10. No. 12 Oklahoma St  356 points11. No. 8 BYU       367 points12. No. 22 Washington   414 points13. Cal Poly        441 points14. No. 29 Virginia 446 points15.     No. 25 LOUISVILLE   458 points16. No. 7 N.C. State    469 points
U of L Men's Individual Finishers (Field of 250)62. Cory Thorne    32:10.0093. Wesley Korir  32:31.60112.    Soimo Kiplagat  32:42.10139.    Michael Eaton    32:57.90202.    Ryan Byrne  33:45.60219.    Wes Seacat  34:04.60222.    Scott McClain    34:09.90
U of L Women's Individual Finisher (Field of 253)106.    Tarah McKay    22:11.60