UM harriers finish 22nd to top NCAA pre-nationals
10/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Nine out of 12 of the University of Montana's top cross-country runners finished with their fastest times of the season Saturday.
The Griz were competing at the NCAA Pre-National meet in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
"It's a good confidence builder going into the conference meet in two weeks," head coach Tom Raunig said.
More than 70 of the best teams in the nation met for the races, which were split up into purple and gold divisions to account for the large number of runners. UM was the only Big Sky team in the purple division.
Junior Antony Ford placed 14th individually, leading the men to a 22nd-place finish in their division.
Kerry Bogner placed 65th to lead the women to a 30th-place finish.
The finishing times proved both UM teams can perform better than their fourth-place conference ranking, Raunig said.
The men's race began with a fast pace as first-ranked Stanford led the pack with an uphill first-mile time near 4:38.
Ford kept up with many of the front runners for the fast start, and struggled to hold on toward the end of the 8-kilometer race, Raunig said. Ford finished with a time of 23:54
"Antony's was an excellent race," Raunig said. However, he said, Ford might have run better in the gold division race with other Big Sky teams, including Montana State, Weber State and conference leader Northern Arizona.
UM averaged a faster time than MSU and Weber, and in a dual meet with each team would have beaten MSU and tied Weber, Raunig said.
Meanwhile, the women's team was missing their usual No. 3 runner, Shannon Johnson, due to a leg injury, and a sideache plagued Lauren Jensen, a top runner. Johnson will not compete for the rest of the season.
Fighting setbacks, Raunig said, the women's team still ran well and he was pleased with Bogner's finish, although she had hoped to run better in the 5-kilometer race.
"Personally, during the race I felt a little flat," Bogner said. "I would have liked to place a little better."
After settling down and thinking back on the meet, Bogner said she was OK with the performance but believes the women's team can still improve.
Both teams have two weeks to prepare for the conference championships in Flagstaff, Ariz., home course of Northern Arizona. Neither Griz team has raced the NAU Lumberjacks, and Raunig said he wants to make sure UM steps up to the conference-leaders' fast pace and high-elevation course.
"We need to run very smart," he said. "Seven-thousand feet elevation isn't very forgiving."
The Griz were competing at the NCAA Pre-National meet in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
"It's a good confidence builder going into the conference meet in two weeks," head coach Tom Raunig said.
More than 70 of the best teams in the nation met for the races, which were split up into purple and gold divisions to account for the large number of runners. UM was the only Big Sky team in the purple division.
Junior Antony Ford placed 14th individually, leading the men to a 22nd-place finish in their division.
Kerry Bogner placed 65th to lead the women to a 30th-place finish.
The finishing times proved both UM teams can perform better than their fourth-place conference ranking, Raunig said.
The men's race began with a fast pace as first-ranked Stanford led the pack with an uphill first-mile time near 4:38.
Ford kept up with many of the front runners for the fast start, and struggled to hold on toward the end of the 8-kilometer race, Raunig said. Ford finished with a time of 23:54
"Antony's was an excellent race," Raunig said. However, he said, Ford might have run better in the gold division race with other Big Sky teams, including Montana State, Weber State and conference leader Northern Arizona.
UM averaged a faster time than MSU and Weber, and in a dual meet with each team would have beaten MSU and tied Weber, Raunig said.
Meanwhile, the women's team was missing their usual No. 3 runner, Shannon Johnson, due to a leg injury, and a sideache plagued Lauren Jensen, a top runner. Johnson will not compete for the rest of the season.
Fighting setbacks, Raunig said, the women's team still ran well and he was pleased with Bogner's finish, although she had hoped to run better in the 5-kilometer race.
"Personally, during the race I felt a little flat," Bogner said. "I would have liked to place a little better."
After settling down and thinking back on the meet, Bogner said she was OK with the performance but believes the women's team can still improve.
Both teams have two weeks to prepare for the conference championships in Flagstaff, Ariz., home course of Northern Arizona. Neither Griz team has raced the NAU Lumberjacks, and Raunig said he wants to make sure UM steps up to the conference-leaders' fast pace and high-elevation course.
"We need to run very smart," he said. "Seven-thousand feet elevation isn't very forgiving."
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