The Virginia women's cross country team dealt with as much adversity as it had ever faced Saturday at the annual Pre-Nationals Meet in the Ames, Iowa, but it still managed to finish a respectable 17th place. At a new distance in a crowded field, the Cavs didn't run perfect races - far from it. But that may be the best thing they take from their first major meet of the season.
"When we finished up the race, none of us were happy," said senior Dana Coons, who ran the six-kilometer race in 23 minutes, 5.7 seconds to finish 145th overall. "But it was encouraging that we could have done better. Even as badly as we did, we were 17th out of almost 60 teams."
|
In fact, runners from 56 teams gave Pre-Nationals one of the most crowded fields in collegiate cross country races. Virginia coach Jason Dunn said it was the most packed race in the sport's history. The situation created a backlog at the finish line and caused runners to wait in lines 20 yards long to finish the race and receive times.
To make things worse, the race distance presented a significant problem for the team. In a major change, NCAA Nationals has switched its women's races from 5K to 6K for the 2000 season, which was reflected at Pre-Nationals. For most Cavaliers, it was the first time they had run the longer distance in competition. Coons said she suffered exhaustion and dropped nearly 60 places at the end. But her teammate, junior Sarah Folse, handled the distance with ease and ran a 21:56.3, good enough to lead the Cavs and finish 34th overall.
"Sarah did a great job," Dunn said. "If she has a little better run at Nationals, she could be an All-American. I would guess that she should be our top runner" in upcoming meets.
After Folse, the Cavs' first five all finished in the top 168 and together scored 591 place points. The score placed them well behind BYU, which took first with 117, but ahead of all teams from the southeast region, including three from the ACC. That finish bodes well for Virginia, a team that hopes to place in the top three in the NCAA Southeast Regional Nov. 13 and earn a spot in NCAA Nationals Nov. 20. Right now, N.C. State - which did not compete in Ames - is the only team in the Southeast that has run better than Virginia.
"This is the first year we've been focused on Nationals," Coons said. "This is the best team that I've been on and we have a lot of energy. It's a totally different team from ones in the past that basically said, 'We go to regionals, and that's it.'"
Junior Jessica Thomas finished second among the Cavs (86th overall) with a time of 22:30.7. Coons (145 overall) and juniors Ellen Dwyer (158) and Dawn Cleary (168) rounded out Virginia's top five in the team's first race where its top runners ran all-out. In previous meets, Virginia either competed with its second-tier runners or integrated the meet into its training regimen. However, performance at Pre-Nationals, which took place on the same course as Nationals will, is taken into account when the NCAA picks which schools go on to Nationals. The Cavs are confident, though, that they can secure an automatic bid to Nationals by finishing in the top two at the Southeast Regional.
"We just wanted to get some respect from other schools" at Pre-Nationals, Coons said. "We knew we could make it to Nationals even if we didn't do well. But no one raced her best."
Said Dunn: "This team hasn't been to Nationals since '93, but I think we can go this year. Even though we didn't do as well as we could have at Pre-Nationals, it was a great experience because it gives us something like what we'll see at Nationals"
Read More
Lacrosse defenseman Cole Kastner announces transfer to Stanford basketball
By Michael Liebermann | 8 hours agoKastner is reviving a hoops career that has lain dormant since he graduated high school.
Virginia gets second Notre Dame rematch in a dynamic ACC Tournament bout Friday
By Michael Liebermann | 21 hours agoThe Cavaliers will get a shot at redemption against a vaunted ACC foe, in a game with serious postseason seeding implications.
Mel Josephson and women’s lacrosse prepare to take center stage
By Xander Tilock | YesterdayJosephson's ability to perform throughout a game's biggest moments is crucial for the Cavaliers.
