Cross Country Takes 17th at NCAA Championships

Cross Country 11/19/2007 12:00:00 AM

Nov. 19, 2007

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -

The Baylor women's cross country team placed 17th overall, the highest finish among Big 12 schools, at the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships at the Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind.

The Bears scored 427 total points, six ahead of Texas Tech, to secure its fourth-highest finish at the national meet in program history. The 1998 squad finished eighth overall for Baylor's highest finish, while the 1991 team finished 10th and the 2005 team finished 15th.

After failing to qualify automatically for the NCAA Championships, finishing third at the NCAA South Central Regional, Baylor received one of the 13 at-large berths for the national meet.

"We were probably one of the last teams accepted to the meet, so to finish 17th is pretty impressive," said head coach Todd Harbour. "We were running out of our minds today and had a great race. To be ranked 30th entering the meet and to finish 17th says a lot about the hard work these ladies have put in this season."

Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech won the women's individual title for the second straight season, while Stanford won its third straight team title with 145 points.

Lauren Hagans finished 35th overall with a time of 20:59.2 to lead Baylor. Hagans was the top finisher for the Bears at the Big 12 Championships earlier this season.

Hagans earned All-America honors as the 24th overall American-born competitor at the meet. She is the fourth individual to earn All-America honors, and the first since 1999 when Karin Ernstrom finished 22nd overall competing as an individual. Sherri Smith finished 20th in 1998 and Natalie Nalepa earned consecutive All-America honors in 1990 and 1991.

"I thought that Lauren had one of the best races of her career," said Harbour. "She got out quickly and then was able to stay with the main pack for most of the race. She ran an incredible race."

Nichole Jones ran a time of 21:07.4 to place 43rd overall. Jones finished second last weekend at the NCAA South Central Regional, and was the top finisher for the Bears in five races this season.

"Nichole didn't get out as fast as she would have liked," said Harbour. "She got stuck in some traffic at the beginning of the race and had to fight through that. She had an amazing last 800 meters and was able to pass a lot of runners heading to the finish line."

Sophomore Danielle Bradley took 132nd overall with a time of 21:46.3, while Lyndsy Bedell placed 151st overall with a time of 21:54.9 in her final collegiate race. Renae Van Wyhe completed the scoring for Baylor, finishing 190th in a time of 22:17.4 over the 6K course.

"Danielle ran really well for us today, and this is the fifth straight race that she has run in our top four," said Harbour. "She is just a sophomore and didn't even get to run cross country for us last year, so she was definitely the most improved runner this year. Lyndsy ran a great race, and it was good to see her run well in her final race. I thought that Renae battled well all season. She was our 10th runner at one point this season and kept working hard. She got to run at the conference meet due to an illness and has run really well ever since."

Katie Shaw finished 227th overall with a time of 22:54.7, while Jessi Barnes placed 234th at 23:05.7.

This season marked the fifth-straight year that Baylor qualified for the NCAA Championships. The 17th place overall finish today was the second-highest during that current streak, and marked the first time during the streak that Baylor was the top finisher from the Big 12 Conference.

The Lady Bears competed at the same course earlier this season, finishing 13th out of 35 teams at the Indiana State Pre-National Cross Country meet on Oct. 13. In that race, Jones finished first for Baylor and 34th overall with a time of 21:01. Hagans took 42nd overall with a time of 21:07 for the Lady Bears.

The Baylor track and field teams will open their indoor seasons on Jan. 10-11 at the Arkansas Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.

17. Baylor - 427
35. Lauren Hagans 20:59.2
43. Nichole Jones 21:07.4
132. Danielle Bradley 21:46.3
151. Lyndsy Bedell 21:54.9
190. Renae Van Wyhe 22:17.4

227. Katie Shaw 22:54.7
234. Jessi Barnes 23:05.7

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