SEASON SUMMARY FOR WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAM

We have created Tiger Running Notes so that other runners can check in and see what is happening in Tiger Land as far as our cross country and track programs are concerned. We welcome all runners and other interested folks to read about us and what we are doing. Please feel free to write to us on the blog if you wish.

I’d like to start by giving you some information about our recently concluded cross country season.

The UWA women’s cross country team just completed its most successful season ever this past weekend at the NCAA South Region Championships in Brandon, FL. The information comes from an interview given to the Sports Information Department at UWA.

The harriers finished 9th in the NCAA South Region Championships to earn the first regional ranking ever in school history. “This has been such a good year, it is difficult to know where to start pointing out the highlights,” gushed head coach Don Medeiros. “It might just be easier to list them in bullet point format so I don’t forget any”.

· 5th place finish at the GSC meet – highest team finish in school history.
· 160 point total at the GSC meet – best team score in school history
· 9th place finish at NCAA South Region meet- highest team finish in school history
· 194 point total at the NCAA South Region meet – best team score in school history.
· 19:05 run by Carolyn Mancuso at Southern Miss Invitational – new school record for 5K.
· 23:15 run by Carolyn Mancuso at South Region meet – new school record for 6K.
· 8th place finish by Carolyn Mancuso at GSC meet – highest individual finish in school history.
· 15th place finish by Carolyn Mancuso at NCAA South Region meet – highest finish in school history.
· 2 athletes qualified for academic all-American – Carolyn Mancuso and Polina Babkina.

“We had set a goal of finishing in the top 10 at the region meet this year but I knew we could, with a good race, move up to the 9th spot and, with a great race, maybe higher. When I saw the results I was almost speechless. We were only 6 points out of 8th place, only 11 points out of 7th place, only 15 points out of 6th place and only 23 points out of 5th place. I suddenly realized that we had made a much bigger jump from last year than I thought. If we have a good track season, we’ll definitely be positioned to move up in the rankings next year. I am very proud of our women’s team and how they battled in the 2 most important meets of the year. They were real warriors and I can’t wait for next year to roll around”.

Medeiros noted that “Carolyn’s year has been phenomenal. She reached all of the major goals she set and has stamped herself as the finest female distance runner at UWA to date. I know she is excited to see how far she can push herself and how fast she can eventually go”.
Polina Babkina was the next runner to draw Medeiros’ attention. “What can I say about Polina? She came to us as a tennis player who had never run cross country before but enjoyed running. What she achieved has been nothing short of remarkable. She became our second runner as the season drew to a close, beating our other runners who had more experience and training. To finish 28thin the South Region meet after finishing the same 28th place in the conference meet is almost unbelievable. I would love to take the credit for her success, but she is such a competitor that I think she could have run just as well on her own. I am grateful to coach Fanelli for allowing Polina to be a part of our team and I think she can do even better next year since she will have some race experience to draw upon”.

“One of the major reasons for our success has been our pack”, Medeiros pointed out. “Jessica Gonzalez and Kelli Hartley really stepped up during our two most important meets. They did a great job of controlling their race pace until it was time to start passing other runners and, as a result, they both had great success in the major meets. In the same vein, Amy Benoit and Hannah Gray worked well together to solidify our # 5 spot and it paid off for us at the end. Both of them had PR’s in the last race and that put us over the top as far as making the top 10 list”.
“It’s only 364 days until the NCAA South Regional in Huntsville”, Medeiros said.

“We can’t wait until next year”.