XC Women Earn NCAA Berth

Cross Country 11/14/2009 12:00:00 AM

Nov. 14, 2009

WACO, Texas - Baylor's women's cross country had five earn all-region honors, combining for a second-place team finish at the NCAA South Central Regional on Saturday at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco, Texas.

"We are just excited to be making the trip back to Terre Haute. Overall it was a really good day. The guys ended on a good note and the ladies will be ready to get back to work on Monday. But, we are going to enjoy this one this afternoon."

All five Baylor women finished in the top 15 places, led by a third-place finish from All-American Erin Bedell. The Bears finished the meet with 54 points, just 11 behind regional champion SMU, but 12 ahead of third-place Arkansas. With the second-place finish, Baylor earned one of two automatic bids available to the top two teams at each regional, securing their seventh straight trip to the NCAA Championships.

"The women are excited," head coach Todd Harbour said. "It was a great joy for the girls and how hard they worked and what they were able to overcome was great. It was a tight battle all the way and we were just able to get ahead of Arkansas."

Bedell covered the 6,000-meter course in 21 minutes, 1.9 seconds, 31 second off the pace of regional champion Silje Fjortoft of SMU. Bedell earned the third all-region honor of her career. Behind Bedell, sophomore Cate Westenhover had a breakout performance, finishing in 10th place with a time of 21:22.8 to earn the first all-region honor of her career. Senior Danielle Bradley was next for the Bears in 12th (21:26.5) earning her second all-region honors, while senior Nichole Jones earned her fourth all-region honor with a 14th-place finish at 21:32.6. Freshman Stephanie Morgan also earned all-region honors with a 15th-place finish in a time of 21:33.1.

We had some girls that stepped up big today," Harbour said. "Stephanie, a freshman, had a great race in only her second 6K. That was amazing. It was a big day for Cate Westenhover, and we were excited about that."

On the men's side, Baylor finished in seventh place as a team, with four top-50 finishes and a 29th-place finish by junior Robbie Knorr. Despite not earning a berth to the NCAAs, the Baylor men improved three places on last season's 10th-place regional finish.

"The guys had a good meet, very solid," Harbour said. "They ended the season on a good note finishing in seventh."

Knorr just missed all-region honors, which go to the top 25 finishers in each race, with his 29th-place finish. He covered the men's 10,000-meter course in 32:25.0, while senior Chris Gowell was seven spots back in 36th with a time of 32:43.4. Junior Jeff Sadler was 43rd with a time of 33:03.4, while sophomore Brandon Reed placed 49th in a time of 33:15.2. Sophomore Zac Flowers rounded out the top five for Baylor in 61st place with a time of 33:32.1

"Chris Gowell ended on a great note, and Robbie had a good race for the guys," Harbour said.

Baylor's women will continue their season at the NCAA Cross Country Championships hosted annually in Terre Haute, Ind. The meet is scheduled for Nov. 23, 2009.

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