Regionals Up Next for Cross Country

NORMAN, Okla. The University of Oklahoma cross country teams head to Peoria, Ill., Saturday, Nov. 13, for the NCAA Midwest Regional.

The Sooners will return to the race course for the first time since running in the Big 12 Championships Oct. 30.

“The women's goal is to be a top-five team,” head coach Rodney Rothoff said. “We are capable of running better than we did at the Big 12 meet. The women say they feel stronger than they were two weeks ago. Physically we are ready. The question is are we able to take the next step mentally to become a top-tier team.”

The Sooner women finished seventh at the meet, the best Big 12 Conference finish in program history. Sophomore Jessica Eldridge led the team with a 12th-place finish and earned all-conference honors for the second time in as many years. The women's team finished eighth at last year's regional meet.

In 2003, Eldridge finished third individually at the regional to become OU's first national qualifier since Melissa Gilbertson in 1996. Eldridge placed 180th at nationals.

“On the men's side, we're looking for a top-10 finish,” Rothoff said. “Our goal is to improve from last year, but it will be a challenge. This team is much younger than the team that finished sixth in 2003.”

The OU men's team, which placed ninth in conference, finished sixth in the 2003 Midwest Regional, the best finish for the program since qualifying for nationals in 1978. Sophomore Jason Coleman just missed earning all-conference honors after he fell and was spiked early in the race.

The Sooner men have qualified for nationals as a team three times 1946, 1976 and 1978 with their best finish, ninth, coming in their first appearance. The women's team has never qualified for the national meet since its inception in 1981.

Eldridge and Nicola Maye, who won all-region honors in 2003, lead the women's team completed by Aja Clark, Jackie Dubois, Catherine Odell and Julie Swagerty.

“Hopefully, the experience we have on the women's team will pay off and result in meeting our expectations,” Rothoff said. “If Jason Coleman stays on his feet he'll be in a position to qualify for nationals.”

The men include Coleman, Andrew Call, Blake Culp, Salah Hussein, Jason Penland and Tyler Schmiedeberg.

“This course is faster than the course we ran at the conference meet,” Rothoff said. “Our team is speed-oriented so I think it will suit us well.”

The women's 6K race begins at 11 a.m. CST and the men's 10K race follows at noon.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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