Women's cross country places fifth at Regional
Natalie Clericuzio
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Sports
On a campus with a football team that boasts a single win this season, a soccer squad that did not quite live up to expectations and two basketball programs dying to bounce back from disheartening 2008-09 seasons, the women's cross country team, competitors at the national tournament over the past two seasons, had the athletic hopes of an entire university on their shoulders.
However, with five upperclassmen out of the mix this season, those expectations fell on the shoulders of an extremely young team - one comprised entirely of underclassmen, save for a single fifth-year senior.
As such, while the team's fifth-place finish at the South Central Regional Meet last Saturday at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco, Texas, was not high enough to qualify the group for nationals, the performance was one of the most impressive it could have asked for. Not just because of the team's overachieving, but that the finish, while a step down from last year's second-place finish, still outdid the team's median placement over the past decade. Head Coach Jim Bevan said he is pleased with the season's outcome.
"On the one hand, we've been seeded fifth in region for some time and as this was a team where all seven runners have never run at regionals before, [we ran] a pretty good regional meet," Bevan said.
That finish did not come easily for the Owls, however. Rice's top finisher at the Conference USA Championships, freshman Heather Olson, dealt with breathing issues throughout the race, a condition that likely prevented her from running her best race. Freshman Marie Walsh also ran the race with several blisters.
Southern Methodist University, which grabbed the C-USA championship Oct. 31, took first place, while Baylor University and the University of Arkansas took second and third place, respectively. The University of Texas finished in fourth place.
The Owls could not follow the race plan fully, which was to run an even-split meet with the first half coming just as quickly as the second. The team was still on course at the mile and at the 2,000-meter mark; however, between 2,000 and 3,000 meters, in a hillier section of the course, the group broke apart.
However, with five upperclassmen out of the mix this season, those expectations fell on the shoulders of an extremely young team - one comprised entirely of underclassmen, save for a single fifth-year senior.
As such, while the team's fifth-place finish at the South Central Regional Meet last Saturday at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco, Texas, was not high enough to qualify the group for nationals, the performance was one of the most impressive it could have asked for. Not just because of the team's overachieving, but that the finish, while a step down from last year's second-place finish, still outdid the team's median placement over the past decade. Head Coach Jim Bevan said he is pleased with the season's outcome.
"On the one hand, we've been seeded fifth in region for some time and as this was a team where all seven runners have never run at regionals before, [we ran] a pretty good regional meet," Bevan said.
That finish did not come easily for the Owls, however. Rice's top finisher at the Conference USA Championships, freshman Heather Olson, dealt with breathing issues throughout the race, a condition that likely prevented her from running her best race. Freshman Marie Walsh also ran the race with several blisters.
Southern Methodist University, which grabbed the C-USA championship Oct. 31, took first place, while Baylor University and the University of Arkansas took second and third place, respectively. The University of Texas finished in fourth place.
The Owls could not follow the race plan fully, which was to run an even-split meet with the first half coming just as quickly as the second. The team was still on course at the mile and at the 2,000-meter mark; however, between 2,000 and 3,000 meters, in a hillier section of the course, the group broke apart.
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