Cross Country Heads to NCAA Championships
11/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 18, 2005
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BAYLOR CROSS COUNTRY HEADS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
WACO, Texas - For the third consecutive season, the Baylor women's cross country team has qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships as the women will run in the national meet on Monday, Nov. 21, at 12:15 p.m.
"We are extremely excited about qualifying for our third consecutive national meet," head coach Todd Harbour said. "I think the team is motivated to improve on last year's finish and I think we have the opportunity to come away with a really strong showing."
Last season at the championships, Baylor raced to a 29th-place finish at the national meet as Brittany Brockman led the way for the Bears at the NCAA Championships with a 67th-place finish.
Baylor is coming off a strong showing at the NCAA South Central Regional as the Bears earned an automatic berth into the championships with a second-place team finish. Brockman and Erin Bedell led a one-two finish for the Bears as Brockman captured her first career regional title.
Lauren Hagans finished just out of the top 10 with an 11th-place finish, finishing in a time of 21:33.65, while Monique Ortega (12th, 21:34.00) and Brittany McGuire (20th, 22:08.90) also scored for the Bears.
Lyndsy Bedell finished just out of the scoring with a 21st-place finish; however, her top 25 finish placed her on the all-region squad as Baylor placed six runners on the all-region team for the first time ever.
Baylor narrowly missed out on the regional title as the Bears fell one point shy of Arkansas as the Lady `Backs won the meet with a team total of 45. The 46 points scored by the Bears was the lowest point total for Baylor at a regional since the Bears joined the Big 12 Conference and the lowest total since 1991.
Baylor has had a history of success at the national meet with the Bears highest team finish coming in 1998, when BU finished eighth. Natalie Nalepa owns Baylor's highest individual finish at the national meet as she raced to a fifth-place finish in 1991.
BAYLOR WOMEN LAND FOUR ON ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 TEAM
Four Baylor women's cross country runners garnered attention this season for their work in the classroom and on the course as Jessi Barnes, Lyndsy Bedell, Brittany Brockman and Brittany McGuire were named first-team Academic All-Big 12 Conference the league office announced on Tuesday.
The selections for Brockman, a junior majoring in business, and McGuire, a junior majoring in journalism, mark the second time they have been named academic all-conference. Barnes, a sophomore majoring in business, and Bedell, a sophomore majoring in business, each picked up their first academic all-conference selection.
To qualify student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of his/her team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.
WOMEN'S TEAM NO. 19 IN LATEST NATIONAL POLL
The Baylor women's cross country team is ranked No. 19 in the latest FinishLynx NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country National Poll, up from the No. 20 ranking the Baylor women held heading into the NCAA South Central Regional.
The Baylor women's cross country team climbed one spot after a strong showing at the NCAA Regional, where the Bears finished second. The Bears were led by junior Brittany Brockman, who captured the regional title.
Baylor's strong performance at the meet qualified the team for their 10th appearance, and third consecutive, at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Baylor was one of three Big 12 schools ranked in the poll as the Bears trailed only Colorado and Oklahoma State in the national rankings among conference schools.
THREE BAYLOR RUNNERS EARN All-CONFERENCE HONORS
The Baylor women's cross country team placed three runners on the all-conference squad and raced to a third-place finish at the Big 12 Cross Country Championships.
Junior Brittany Brockman, freshman Erin Bedell and sophomore Lauren Hagans each finished in the top 15 to earn all-conference honors and lead the Baylor women to their second highest finish in school history.
"I was extremely pleased with the way the women came out and competed," head coach Todd Harbour said. "Our women's team had one of its best Big 12 performances ever and to have three of our women's runners earn all-conference honors is a tremendous accomplishment."
For the fifth time this season, Brockman led the way for Baylor at the meet as the junior finished fourth overall with a time of 20:42. Erin Bedell was the second Baylor runner to cross the night as the freshman finished second among Big 12 newcomers and eighth overall with a time of 21:08.
Hagans rounded out Baylor's all-conference performers as the sophomore raced to a 14th-place finish with a time of 21:25.
LAST TIME OUT - BAYLOR FINISHES SECOND AT REGIONAL
The Baylor women's cross country team raced to a second-place finish and earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Cross Country Championships while the men finished 12th at the NCAA South Central Regional on Saturday.
"I was extremely pleased with the way the women ran today," head coach Todd Harbour said. "The goal all year long was to qualify for the NCAA Championships and we were able to do that today. We fell just shy of Arkansas; but, I think the close finish will just add to the team's motivation for when we run in the championships."
Brittany Brockman led the way for Baylor as the junior captured the school's first individual regional title, winning the meet with a time of 20:47.20 on the 6,000-meter course.
Freshman Erin Bedell was close behind, finishing second overall with a time of 20:49.80 to record her fifth top 10 finish of the season.
Lauren Hagans finished just out of the top 10 with an 11th-place finish, finishing in a time of 21:33.65, while Monique Ortega (12th, 21:34.00) and Brittany McGuire (20th, 22:08.90) also scored for the Bears.
Lyndsy Bedell finished just out of the scoring with a 21st-place finish; however, her top 25 finish placed her on the all-region squad as Baylor placed six runners on the all-region team for the first time ever.
Baylor narrowly missed out on the regional title as the Bears fell one point shy of Arkansas as the Lady `Backs won the meet with a team total of 45. The 46 points scored by the Bears was the lowest point total for Baylor at a regional since the Bears joined the Big 12 Conference and the lowest total since 1991.
On the men's side, freshman Rey Hinojosa paced the men to a 12th-place finish as he was the first Baylor runner to cross the line, finishing 40th overall with a time of 33:25.75.
Jacob Jones was the second Baylor runner to cross the line as the sophomore finished 48th with a time of 33:46.70.
Mark Smith (61st, 34:20.35), John Wenhold (68th, 34:43.85) and Jordan Hiller (71st, 34:53.10) also scored for the Bears as the Baylor men closed out their season at the regional meet.
Arkansas claimed the men's team title while Texas-Pan American's Westly Keating won the individual title with a time of 29:30.75
Players Mentioned
