TCU Women 2nd, Men 4th at WAC Cross Country Championships
10/30/2000 12:00:00 AM | General
Rice took both team titles while TCU placed second in the women's standings and fourth in the men's division.
Senior David Lagat placed second in the men's race to lead TCU. Rice took the team title with 56 points. The rest of the teams were in close order with SMU placing second with 67, Fresno State third with 81, TCU fourth with 87, and UTEP taking fifth with 89. Tulsa (99) and San Jose State (188) rounded out the standings.
Lagat and eventual champion Clyde Colenso of SMU ran beside each other for the first three miles of the five-mile (8,000 meters) race before Colenso pulled away to the victory. Lagat ran a consistent race, taking second by a comfortable margin ahead of Rice's Lachlan McArthur. Colenso, last year's runner-up at the WAC Championships, finished the race in 24:19, well ahead of Lagat's finishing time of 24:56. The second place finish was Lagat's third top-three placing in four years of WAC Championships competition.
Every single man we raced ran a personal best, said TCU assistant coach Dan Waters. We couldn't have asked for more. Every guy put it on the line today. We're extremely pleased with the performance, to say the least.
Joining Lagat in the top 10 was senior Adrian Martinez, who placed seventh in 25:29. Elsewhere for TCU, Ryan Womack placed 20th (26:27), Patrick Belmont was 23rd (26:32), Jared Pope finished 35th (26:58), Adam Helm was 37th (27:03), and freshman Justin Speer placed 41st (27:28).
The TCU women ran strong, placing second despite the absence of one of their top runners due to an injury. TCU had to wonder what might have been had sophomore Robin Schacht, usually the team's second or third-highest finisher been available after she suffered a season-ending hip injury in September. Nonetheless, TCU ran undaunted as Keitany and Singleton led the team to its highest team finish ever at a conference meet.
Tulsa's Fride Vullum won the women's race, traversing the 5,000-meter course in 17:37. Keitany, a sophomore, was second in 17:45 with Singleton, also a sophomore, close behind in third at 17:57. All five TCU scoring runners placed in the top 30 with sophomore Georgeanne Biancardi 12th in 18:43, senior Alison Harvey 19th in 18:59 and freshman Shannon McKinney 27th in 19:14. Freshman Melody Raffloer placed 40th with a time of 19:59.
We couldn't have asked for more than we got from the ladies today, Waters said. Glady's (Keitany) and Katie (Singleton) both ran very well and our other runners really stepped up today. Georgeanne (Biancardi) and Alison (Harvey) fought hard today. Our freshmen (Shannon McKinney and Melody Raffloer) held their own in their first conference race. Overall, it was an excellent performance.
TCU continues the 1999 season when both the men's and women's teams compete at the NCAA South Central Region Championships at Denton, Texas, on Saturday, Nov. 13.
WAC Championships
October 30, 1999
Woodward Park
Fresno, California
Women's Race (5,000 meters)
Team Standings
1. Rice 50; 2. TCU 63; 3. San Jose State 72; 4. Tulsa 82; 5. UTEP 133; 6. Fresno State 145; 7. Hawai'i 158; 8. SMU 225.
Top Individual: Fride Vullum, Tulsa, 17:37.
Individual Standings
1. Fride Vullum, Tulsa, 17:37; 2. Glady's Keitany, TCU, 17:45; 3. Katie Singleton, TCU, 17:57; 4. Martha Diaz, UTEP, 18:15; 5. Katie Waite, Rice, 18:17; 6. Allison Kegley, San Jose State, 18:20; 7. Shaquandra Roberson, Rice, 18:25; 8. Ana Martinez, San Jose State, 18:32; 9. Tanya Wright, Rice, 18:33; 10. Margaret Danagher, Tulsa, 18:43.
Other TCU competitors:
12. Georgeanne Biancardi, 18:43; 19. Alison Harvey, 18:59; 27. Shannon McKinney, 19:14; 40. Melody Raffloer, 19:59.
Men's Race (8,000 meters)
Team Standings
1. Rice 56; 2. SMU 67; 3. Fresno State 81; 4. TCU 87; 5. UTEP 89; 6. Tulsa 99; 7. San Jose State 188.
Top Individual: Clyde Colenso, SMU, 24:35.
Individual Standings
1. Clyde Colenso, SMU, 24:35; 2. David Lagat, TCU, 24:56; 3. Lachlan McArthur, Rice, 25:01; 4. Dario Espinoza, UTEP, 25:12; 5. Cesar Perez, UTEP, 25:21; 6. Tyson Hendricksen, Rice, 25:23; 7. Adrian Martinez, TCU, 25:29; 8. Tim Surface, Tulsa, 25:37; 9. John Jura, Rice, 25:40; 10. Roman Oravec, SMU, 25:51.
Other TCU competitors:
20. Ryan Womack, 26:27; 23. Patrick Belmont, 26:32; 35. Jared Pope, 26:58; 37. Adam Helm, 27:03; 43. Justin Speer, 27:28.
