Kara Newton Finishes 63rd At NCAA Cross Country Championships
11/20/2000 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 20, 2000
AMES, Iowa - Baylor cross country athlete Kara Newton finished 63rd here Monday at the NCAA Cross Country Championships hosted by Iowa State. Newton's appearance marked the fourth consecutive season in which a Baylor team or individual has run at the NCAA Championships.
The field of more than 250 runners was not the only force with which Newton had to contend. A race-time temperature of 17 degrees and a blistering wind chill of 11 degrees below zero greeted the competitors on a cloudy day in the Iowa heartland.
Newton turned in a time of 21 minutes, 38.4 seconds in the 6,000-meter race. The Amarillo, Texas, native turned in a career-best 6,000 time of 20:47 three weeks ago at the Big 12 Championships, at which she finished fifth to earn all-Big 12 honors.
"Kara did not get out well, and we knew that if she didn't have a good start that would really hurt her," Baylor cross country head coach Todd Harbour said. "It has been her pattern to start slow and work her way through the pack, but in a field this size there were just too many people to pass. But at the same time, in a large field there is not much time difference between 60th and 20th."
Indeed there was not much difference as Newton finished within 20 seconds of 25th place. Despite the chilly conditions, Harbour said Newton was not affected.
"It was brutal out there today," Harbour said. "It was snowing toward the end and the wind was extremely fierce. But Kara was ready. She is very tough mentally, and the conditions really didn't bother her."
Colorado claimed its first cross country team national title with a team total of 162 points. Defending national champion Brigham Young finished second, followed by Stanford. Colorado's Kara Grgas-Wheeler finished first individually with a time of 20:30.5. Seven athletes from the Big 12 finished in the top 26, including four in the top 12.
