McKay Finishes 12th to Lead Cardinals at Pre-Nationals

Saturday, October 18

Terre Haute, Ind.

11:00 AM

University of Louisville

Pre-Nationals

McKay Finishes 12th to Lead Cardinals at Pre-Nationals

October 18, 2008 | Women's Cross Country

Oct. 18, 2008

Men's White Race Results (PDF) | Women's Blue Race Results (PDF)

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Junior Tarah McKay earned a career-best 12th-place finish as the University of Louisville men's and women's cross country teams competed at Saturday's Pre-Nationals at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.

McKay, a native of St. Clements, Ont., covered the 6,000-meter course in a personal best time of 20:29.1 to finish 12th in the field of 278 runners. The finish is her best ever at the event, 15 positions better than last year's 27th-place finish. Overall, the Cards finished 27th in the field of 41 teams in the women's blue race with 745 points, while No. 1 ranked Washington led a strong field of teams with 36 points. No. 13 Villanova was second with 126 points, while No. 4 Minnesota was third at 198 points.

Also scoring points for the Louisville women was sophomore Emily Borsare in 114th place with a time of 21:59.6, junior Kelsey Page in 187th at 22:40.3, junior Kathryn Long in 200th at 22:49.4 and junior Kortni Dukes in 232nd at 23:15.2.

On the men's side, the Cards scored 628 points to finish 21st in the field of 40 in the men's white race, while No. 10 Stanford earned the team title with 77 points. No. 7 Iona was second with 123 points, while No. 18 BYU was third with 154 points.

Leading the way for the Louisville men was redshirt freshman Matt Hughes, who covered the 8,000-meter course in a time of 24:38.4 to finish 67th overall in the field of 267. Junior Scott McClain was 90th with a time of 24:48.5, while sophomore Matt Bruce was 111th with a time of 24:59.6. Freshman Luke Lovelace was 161st with a time of 25:22.6, while freshman Chase Violet closed the scoring for the Cards in 199th with a time of 25:46.6.

"We're very excited about Tarah's race and finishing 12th at the Pre-Nationals is a great accomplishment," said Cards' head coach Brice Allen. "She really ran a fantastic race today. On the men's side, we had a good effort up front and we're still working on our pack. Now, we'll turn our focus to preparing for the BIG EAST Championships in less than two weeks."

The Cards will have a week off from competition before traveling to Bronx, N.Y., for the 2008 BIG EAST Championships on Oct. 31 at Van Cortlandt Park.

Pre-NationalsTerre Haute, Ind. - Oct. 18, 2008Men: 8 km / Women: 6 km
MENS WHITE RACE RESULTS (40 Teams)1.  No. 10 Stanford 77 points2.  No. 7 Iona  123 points3.  No. 18 BYU  154 points4.  No. 16 Auburn   194 points5.  No. 23 UCLA 196 points6.  No. 12 Virginia 205 points7.  No. 19 Tulsa    212 points8.  Indiana 219 points9.  No. 2 Colorado  235 points10. No. 11 Iowa State   249 points21. LOUISVILLE  628 points
U of L Men's Individual Finishers (Field of 267)67. Matt Hughes    24:38.490. Scott McClain    24:48.5111.    Matt Bruce  24:59.6161.    Luke Lovelace    25:22.6199.    Chase Violet  25:46.6247.    Matt Smith  26:37.4255.    Gordon Dooley    27:09.9
WOMENS BLUE RACE RESULTS (41 Teams)1.  No. 1 Washington    36 points2.  No. 13 Villanova    126 points3.  No. 4 Minnesota 198 points4.  No. 9 Michigan State    215 points5.  No. 15 Florida  233 points6.  No. 16 Wisconsin    247 points7.  No. 6 Stanford  248 points8.  No. 24 Rice 263 points9.  Iowa        283 points10. No. 27 New Mexico   296 points27. LOUISVILLE  745 points
U of L Women's Individual Finishers (Field of 278)12. Tarah McKay    20:29.1114.    Emily Borsare    21:59.6187.    Kelsey Page    22:40.3200.    Kathryn Long  22:49.4232.    Kortni Dukes  23:15.2266.    Lorna Whaley  24:14.4