Waters Finishes 10th at Regional

Nov. 15, 2008

STILLWATER, Okla. – University of Oklahoma cross country runner Kelly Waters finished 10th at the NCAA Midwest Regional Saturday in Stillwater to lead a group of three OU women competing in the event.

Waters, a sophomore, completed the 6,000-meter Oklahoma State Cross Country Course that was swept with 35 mile-per-hour wind from the north in a time of 21 minutes and nine seconds.

Waters was joined in Stillwater by classmate Jessica Engel, who finished 28th with a time of 21:48, and junior Lauren Watson who came in 56th in a time of 22:25.

Rachel Marchand of Iowa took first in the event with a time of 20:32.

All three runners for OU showed a drastic improvement in their results compared to action at the 2007 Midwest Regional. Waters jumped 51 spots from 61st in 2007 to 10th this year. Engel jumped from 45th to 28th while Watson improved from 106th to 56th.

Waters will now wait to see if she is selected as an at-large competitor for the 2008 NCAA National Championships.

The top two teams from the Midwest Regional, Minnesota and Illinois, advance to the 2008 NCAA National Championships along with the top two teams from eight other NCAA Regionals.

The remainder of the 31-team NCAA Championships field will consist of 13 at-large teams selected by the NCAA Division I track and field sub-committee.

In addition to the teams qualifying for the NCAA Championships, thirty-six individuals automatically qualify for the race on the basis of finishing in the top four at their respective NCAA Regionals and not being on an advancing team.

Two additional individuals are selected at-large by the committee to round out the field of 255 competitors. All individual qualifiers must finish in the top 25 of their event.

The 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships are hosted by Indiana State University and are scheduled for Monday, Nov. 24, in Terre Haute, Ind.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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