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University of Oklahoma Athletics
OU Heads To NCAA Cross Country Regional :: Sooners to compete on Saturday.
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Darren Hutchins and the Sooners are in Illinois for the NCAA Cross Country Midwest Regional Saturday. |
OU Heads To NCAA Cross Country Regional
Nov. 15, 2002
NORMAN, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma men's and women's cross country teams are headed to Normal, Illinois, and the campus of Illinois State University for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship. The women's 6k race will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and will be followed by the men's 10k race at 11:30 a.m. The races will be run at the ISU Golf Course.
Looking at the Competition
The Midwest Regional has been one of the toughest in the country in recent years. Seven of the Big 12 teams compete in the Midwest Regional. Colorado (Mountain) and Texas, Baylor, Texas Tech and Texas A&M (South Central) compete in different regionals.
In the latest NCAA men's cross country poll (Nov. 5), Minnesota was the highest ranked Midwest team with the Gophers sitting in 24th place. Two other Midwest teams, Oklahoma State and Iowa, had been ranked in the top 30 but dropped out of the Nov. 5 ranking. The men's top three, Stanford, Arkansas and Colorado, have been the same for the last three polls. Colorado is the defending men's NCAA Champion.
On the women's side, the top two teams in the country, Brigham Young and Stanford, have held the top two spots for the last three polls. Colorado, the 2002 Big 12 champion, jumped from fourth to third in the Nov. 4 poll. In the Midwest region, Missouri is the highest ranked team, coming in 13th. Southwest Missouri State had been ranked earlier this season while Minnesota and Northwestern received votes in the latest poll.
The top two teams from each of nine regionals plus the top four individuals not on a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA meet after Saturday's races. On Monday, Nov. 18, another 13 teams and two individuals will be selected for the men's and women's championships as at-large entries.
Minnesota won the 2001 regional title and Oklahoma State won the women's title last year. The Sooner men were 14th in 2001 and the women did not compete as a team.
Competing for the Sooners
Making the trip to Normal for the men are Jason Brown, Jimmy Buchanan, Andrew Call, Billy Grona, Darren Hutchins, Joey McNair and John Mulholland. Competing for the Sooner women are Jackie Dubois, Emily Leonard, Amanda Luksetich, Aisha Stringer and Kim Thomas.
This will be the first time for Call, Mulholland, Grona, DuBois, Leonard and Thomas to run in the regional meet. cross country championship. All the other OU entries have competed in previous NCAA regionals.Their past performances are highlighted later in this release. Mulholland and Grona are freshmen. DuBois, Leonard and Thomas are in at least their second year of competition with the Sooners but have never run at an NCAA regional.
The Coach
Rodney Rothoff joined the Sooner coaching staff in August after two seasons as the head cross country and assistant track coach for the Tennessee women's program. In his tenure in Knoxville, Rothoff coached 11 NCAA cross country and track All-Americans. He coached the 2002 SEC champion in the outdoor 800 and had four All-SEC cross country selections. His 2001 cross country team was the SEC runner-up.
A 1990 graduate of Methodist College in North Carolina, Rothoff has also coached Clemson and Arkansas-Little Rock.
The Last Time Out
While the University of Colorado was sweeping the Big 12 team and individual awards on Nov. 2, the OU men's and women's cross country teams were establishing personal bests. Seven of OU's 13 competitors at the seventh annual Big 12 Cross Country Championships at the A.J. Gustin Jr. Golf Course dropped their previous best times.
Colorado won its seventh consecutive Big 12 men's cross country title with runners finishing first, second, fourth and fifth. The Buffs finished with 25 points. Texas was the next best competitor with 90 points. The CU women won their sixth title with a final team score of 34 points. CU took the top three spots in the individual standings. Missouri finished second with 107 points.
Joey McNair led the Sooner men. He finished 26th, an all-time best finish, with a career best 24:53 in the 8k race. His new best is 13 seconds faster than the previous mark he set Oct. 5 at the Cowboy Jamboree. Kim Thomas led the OU women, finishing 66th with a time of 23:48, also a career best time for her.
Men (8k race)
Team Standings -- 1. Colorado 25; 2. Texas 90; 3. Texas A&M 114; 4. Oklahoma State 132; 5. Iowa State 141; 6. Baylor 148; 7. Nebraska 171; 8. Kansas 208; 9. Missouri 218; 10. Kansas State 254; 11. Oklahoma 274; 12. Texas Tech 329
Individual Winner -- Jorge Torres, Colorado, 23:32
OU Results -- 26. Joey McNair, 24:53*; 50. Jimmy Buchanan 25:27; 61. Darren Hutchins 25:48*; 75. John Mulholland 26:18*; 83. Jason Brown 26:31*; 95. Andrew Call 27:34; 99. Billy Grona 28:07*
Women (6k race)
Team Standings -- 1. Colorado 34; 2. Missouri 107; 3. Texas 109; 4. Texas A&M 125; 5. Baylor 136; 6. Kansas 147; 7. Kansas State 167; 8. Oklahoma State 179; 9. Texas Tech 197; 10. Iowa State 237; 11. Nebraska 257; 12. Oklahoma 356
Individual Winner -- Molly Austin, Colorado, 20:26
OU Results -- 66. Kim Thomas 23:48*; 67. Aisha Stringer 23:55; 71. Alaina Dearman 24:20; 74. Amanda Luksetich 24:50; 78. Sara Justice 25:27*; 79. Jackie Dubois 25:32
(*) Indicates a career best at this distance
The Coach Says
On the Sooner men: "We were disappointed that we didn't step it up at the Big 12. When I talk about stepping it up, I mean from the mental point of view. We have talked a lot over the last two weeks about the mental challenge we must meet if we are to continue to improve ... as a team and as individual runners. I want our guys to step up their mental approach to equal their physical abilities. They need to answer the challenge mentally as they respond physically. For us, Joey (McNair) is probably one of 15 people who will be competing for those four at-large spots."
On the Sooner women: "It's important that we continue to improve individually amd compete well as a team. I want the women to go out with a strong performance, a good feeling that will carry over to the track season."
OU Team Meet History
Last year's finish of 14th was the Sooner men's best in the last five years of the regional competition. OU's best finish on the women's side came in 1997 when OU finished seventh.
Several Sooner runners have used performances in the regional as a springboard for All-America honors in cross country. The last cross country Sooner All-Americans were Conor Holt for the men in 1993 and Alice Braham for the women in 1994.
Current Sooners' Past Performance
For three Sooner juniors, Darren Hutchins, Joey McNair and Amanda Luksetich, this will mark the third trip to the NCAA Regional meet. Other Sooners who have competed before in regional action include seniors Aisha Stringer and Jason Brown and junior Jimmy Buchanan.
Those past NCAA Regional results include:
Jason Brown, 2000, 137th with a time of 34:39
Jimmy Buchanan, 2001, 57th with a time of 32:15.4
Joey McNair, 2001, 70th with a time of 32:33.7; 2000, 101st with a time of 33:29
Darren Hutchins, 2001, 110th with a time of 33:48.8; 2000, 142nd with a time of 35:13
Amanda Luksetich, 2001, 105th with a time of 23:44.6; 2000, 112th with a time of 23:45
Aisha Stringer, 2001, 92nd with a time of 23:35.8
Next Up
The NCAA Championships are scheduled for Nov. 25. If no Sooner qualifies for the NCAA meet, this will mark the end of the 2002 cross country season for OU. The 2003 indoor track season opens Jan. 18.
2002 Sooner Meet Results
54th Annual John "JK" Kornelson Gold Classic
OU Men (second out of seven teams - 4 mile)
2. Joey McNair, 20:46.16 7. Jimmy Buchanan, 21:23.85
OU Women (fourth out of five teams - 3.1 mile)
SMU Invitational
OU Women (third out of four teams - 5k)
Cowboy Jamboree
OU Women (16th out of 17 teams - 5k)
Arkansas Chile Pepper
Big 12 Championship
OU Women (12th out of 12 teams -- 6k)
(#) Established a career best at that distance
16. Amanda Luksetich, Amanda, 20:45.33
OU Men (second out of 4 teams - 8k)
2. Joey McNair, 25:07 (#)
15. Aisha Stringer, 20:27
OU Men (11th out of 21 teams - 8k)
20. Joey McNair, 25:06 (#)
63. Nicola Maye, 19:42 (#)
OU Men (12th out of 26 teams - 10k)
37. Joey McNair, 31:02.33 (#)
OU Men (11th out of 12 teams -- 8k)
26. Joey McNair, 24:53 (#)
66. Kim Thomas, 23:48 (#)
