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McKay Leads Louisville Women's Cross Country to Third Place at Greater Louisville Classic
Oct. 3, 2009
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville cross country teams raced this morning at E. P. "Tom" Sawyer Park, on a brisk windy morning. The men heated the temperature up a bit with a first place finish, in which they dominated the field by defeating nemesis Kentucky, the second place finisher, by eighty-five points. On the women's side, the Cardinals captured third place with a team score of 141. Pudrue took home the women's title with a score of eighty-eight points. Senior Tarah McKay led the way for the Cardinals with her third consecutive runner-up finish at the Greater Louisville Classic. McKay, a native of St. Clements, Ontario, covered the 5,000-meter course in 17:02.57, while Western Kentucky's Janet Jasang successfully defended her title with a course record time of 16:47.97 in the field of 291 female runners. "It was a good race for the beginning of the year," said McKay. "I had to work a lot in the last mile. I've been trying to work on more endurance in the beginning and speed later on. So, we will see how it goes, but I am happy overall." Junior, Matt Bruce, a native of Oshawa, Ontario, led the way for the men with a solid fifth place finish, navigating the 8,000-meter course in 24:02.80. Teammate Cory Thorne, a redshirt senior, was right behind Bruce with a sixth place finish with a time of 24:07.32. Stephen Sambu, a sophomore from Rend Lake College and the 2009 NJCAA 10,000-meter outdoor track champion, led the field of 334 to the finish line with a time of 23:33.22. "It was great competition today," said Bruce. "The guys ran pretty hard and Cory, Michael [Eaton] and I just tried to hang on there and see who we could pick off and pass up there at the end." Also scoring points for the men were redshirt junior Michael Eaton in ninth place with a time of 24:18.43, redshirt sophomore Matt Hughes in 26th place with a time of 24:44.39, and sophomore Chase Violet, who was 29th with a time of 24:47.20. Sophomore Luke Lovelance, senior Scott McClain, and freshman Evan Hibbs also competed for the Cardinals. Scoring points for the women's team in addition to McKay were senior Kim Grieshaber in seventh place with a time of 17:27.57, junior Emily Borase with a 15th place finish and a time of 17:46.84, senior Kortini Dukes in 53rd with a time of 18:35.12, and senior Kathryn Long in 69th with a time of 18:46.49. Also running for the Cardinals were senior Kelsey Page, senior Kat Alcorn, and sophomore Lorna Whaley. "I'm excited about both squads," said head coach Brice Allen. "At this time of the season, health is as important of a factor as anything, and we have two healthy squads and we are moving forward. We have Pre-Nationals in two weeks, and that will be one of the biggest races of the season, and we are excited for that." The 8th annual Greater Louisville Classic featured a day of records. Seventy-six teams competed from sixteen different states, making it the largest collegiate cross country meet ever contested. The Cardinals will have a week to rest before they head out on the road to Terre Haute, Indiana to race in the Pre-Nationals competition. Louisville will return to E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park again on November 14th to race in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships. For the most up-to-date information on Louisville Cross Country, visit www.uoflsports.com. Greater Louisville Classic E.P. `Tom' Sawyer Park - Oct. 3, 2009 Men: 8 km / Women: 5 km
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