1. 55 Louisville (23:57.12 119:45.60)======================================================= 1 2 78 Wesley Korir Eldoret Kenya Sr 23:18.60 2 6 77 Soimo Kiplagat Kapsabet Kenya Sr 23:39.45 3 8 83 Cory Thorn Portsmouth NH Jr 24:00.70 4 10 76 Michael Eaton Bowling Green KY So 24:05.15 5 29 79 Scott McClain Louisville KY So 24:41.70 6 ( 48) 82 Matt Smith Crestwood KY So 25:16.05 7 ( 55) 81 Thad Schroeder Lexington KY Sr 25:24.60 6. 124 Villanova (24:22.90 121:54.50)======================================================= 1 1 219 Bobby Curtis Louisville KY Sr 23:08.85 5 41 224 Brian Long Louisville KY Fr 24:56.70 8. 175 Louisville (21:46.14 108:50.70)======================================================= 1 9 422 Tarah McKay St. Clements Ontario So 21:00.70 2 15 416 Emily Borsare Peachtree City GA Fr 21:14.00 3 49 419 Lottie Jacobs Helmond The Netherlands Fr 22:08.30 4 50 418 Taryn Gibson Canonsburg PA Sr 22:09.70 5 52 425 Sarah Weir Oshawa Ontario Sr 22:18.00 6 ( 63) 423 Kelsey Page Borden IN So 22:33.35 7 ( 72) 415 Kat Alcorn Hebron KY So 22:54.70University of Louisville Press ReleaseLOUISVILLE, Ky. – Led by four All-BIG EAST performances, the
University of Louisville men’s cross country program continued its
climb among the nation’s top programs by winning the 2007 BIG EAST
Championships Saturday at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park. The BIG EAST title
is the first cross country conference championship in school history for
U of L, coming five months after the Cards won their first ever
conference track and field title at the BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field
Championships.
The Cards, ranked 19th in this week’s USTFCCCA Top 30 poll, scored 55
points to edge No. 16 ranked Georgetown in second with 60 points. No. 23
Providence was third with 74 points followed by No. 13 Notre Dame in
fourth with 93 points and Syracuse in fifth with 103 points at the event
hosted by U of L and the Greater Louisville Sports Commission.
“This is a special day for Louisville cross country and I’m so
happy for the guys on our team and all of our coaches,” said Cards’
head coach Mann. “The BIG EAST Conference is so competitive and so
strong, and for our program to be where it’s at right now says a lot
about the hard work and the commitment from everyone. I have all the
confidence in the world in our athletes and our coaches and we put it
all together today.”
Leading the way for the Cards was senior Wesley Korir’s runner-up
finish after the native of Eldoret, Kenya, covered the 8-kilometer
course in a time of 23 minutes, 18.60 seconds for his best career finish
at the BIG EAST meet.
“It feels really good to win this title,” said Korir, who earned
NCAA All-America honors in the 5,000-meter run at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor
Championships in June and is now a three-time All-BIG EAST performer in
cross country. “Before the race, we knew Georgetown was going to be
very tough and I don’t think a lot of people thought we could win
this. I told our guys before we ever started to leave everything out
there and it would all work out for us. We did that and God blessed us
with a great day.”
Joining Korir with All-BIG EAST performances on Saturday were senior
Soimo Kiplagat from Kapsabet, Kenya, with a sixth-place finish and a
time of 23:39.45, junior Cory Thorne from Portsmouth, N.H., in eighth
with a time of 24:00.70 and sophomore Michael Eaton from Bowling Green,
Ky., in 10th with a time of 24:05.15. Closing the scoring for the Cards
was sophomore Scott McClain in 29th with a time of 24:41.70. Villanova
senior and Louisville native Bobby Curtis won the individual title with
a course record time of 23:08.85.
“To have four guys in the top 10 in this conference shows the team
depth we have and that we’re not built on having one individual
runner,” said Mann, who along with assistant coaches Brice Allen and
Ben Chisman were named the BIG EAST Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year.
“This a great confidence builder for our team as we move forward from
here to the NCAA Regional in two weeks and the NCAA Championships on
Nov. 19.”
Prior to Saturday’s victory, the Cards’ best ever finish at a
conference cross country championship event was second at the 1987 Metro
Conference Championships. Prior to last season, the Cards had never won
a conference title in track & field or cross country, but U of L has now
won the last two BIG EAST titles taking Mann’s career total to 60 team
conference championships over his 28 seasons as a collegiate head
coach.
On the women’s side, the Cards had All-BIG EAST performances from
sophomore Tarah McKay and freshman Emily Borsare to earn eight-place
overall. U of L finished eighth overall with 175 points, while No. 19
ranked West Virginia won the team title with 77 points. No. 22
Providence was second with 87 points followed by No. 11 Georgetown in
third with 92 points, Syracuse in four
th with 119 points and Villanova
in fifth with 125 points.
For the Cards, McKay, a native of St. Clements, Ont., covered the
6-kilometer course in a time of 21:00.70 to finish ninth overall and her
All-BIG EAST honors for the second straight year, while Borsare, from
Peachtree City, Ga., was 15th overall with a time of 21:14.00.
Also scoring for the Cards on Saturday was freshman Lotte Jacobs in
50th at 22:08.30, senior Taryn Gibson in 51st at 22:09.70 and senior
Sarah Weir in 54th at 22:18.00. Georgetown junior Melissa Grelli won the
individual title with a course record time of 20:05.55.
“I really felt like we were going to finish higher on the women’s
side and improve upon last year’s eighth-place finish,” Mann said.
“I’m proud of Tarah and Emily and I really think this is a good
team. We have to get our ladies to believe what our coaches already know
and if we do that, then we’ll reach our goals.”
Up next, U of L will again team with the Greater Louisville Sports
Commission to host the NCAA Southeast Regional on Nov. 10 at E.P.
“Tom” Sawyer Park. The event, being held in Louisville for the
second straight year, will begin at 11 a.m. ET with the men’s
10-kilometer race followed by the women’s 6-kilometer race at 12:15
p.m.