Oct. 4, 2008
M. Results | W. Results | GLC Preview
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — VU sophomore Rita Jorgensen helped pace a field of over 260 cross country runners Saturday morning in the Greater Louisville Classic at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park. Jorgensen finished fourth overall in the 5k meet with a 17:14.11 mark, a personal best and the No. 10 all-time performance on that course.
The VU women placed fifth in the 32-team field gold race*, the men 18th in a 33-team field led by Thomas Davis (25:27.95) in the 8k. Kristabel Doebel-Hickok turned in the No. 2 time for the Commodores at 17:49.24, good enough for a top-15 finish and a personal best.
“Rita showed that she can run up front, and I believe that she has more in her,” Steve Keith, VU head coach, said. “Kristabel gave some very solid support, and I think she is learning quickly in this, her first collegiate cross country season.”
Freshmen Alexa Rogers (18:35.88) and Louise Hannallah (18:44.18), along with senior Amanda Scott (18:51.94) comprised the top-five finishers for Vanderbilt. Kate Southcote-Want (18:55.55), Ellen Black (19:13.62) and freshman Erin McManus (19:14.12) rounded out VU’s top 10.
“We struggled a bit with our 3-4-5 runners as they didn’t quite get out into the position that we wanted in the very large field,” said Keith. “Amanda, a little sick and with some bloody knees from a fall, ran tough but was not 100 percent.
“As a result, we finished fifth but only nine points out of second.”
The Texas women won the meet with 79 points. Georgia State (198), UAB (201) and Southern Illinois (202) finished ahead of the `Dores (207) in the gold race. Janet Jesang, a Western Kentucky junior, set a new course record by crossing the timeline in 16:52.95.
“Hopefully this will give us a little fire and motivation for our next race,” Keith remarked about the team’s finish. “Nine points in a meet that large is only two or three seconds for a couple of runners, so we’ll work on that.
Freshman Jenner Kizer (25:42.37), seniors Rob Whiting (25:43.09) and Michael Nordlund (26:01.78), and James Kasten (26:11.42) constituted the VU men’s top-five times.
“This was a much better effort for the men than previous years,” added Keith. “We had a 44-second time gap from our one to five runners, so not bad but something to work on.
“Out of 33 total teams, this was a really, positive effort for the men.”
Southern Illinois (77), Eastern Kentucky (91), Rend Lake College (120), Louisville (127) and Tennessee (218) tallied the top-five team performances in the gold race. Steven Sambu, Rend Lake College freshman, submitted the top mark for an attached runner at 23:47.37.
Both Commodores teams placed ahead of SEC rival Mississippi as well. The Rebel women (559) place 21st, the men 22nd at 578.
The Vanderbilt teams return to action Oct. 18 for their Pre-National meet at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind.
The women will look to Jorgensen and Doebel-Hickok to lead the Commodores, while Adrienne DiRaddo, who sat out the past two races, will make her return. The two weeks off will give Scott a chance to recover, and Rogers and Hannallah can build on the experience they gained from today’s race.
Note: Belmont, Lipscomb and MTSU sent their squads to the Louisville Invite as well. MTSU (430) and Lipscomb (444) finished 16th and 17th in the women’s gold race. The Belmont (224) and MTSU (251) men finished sixth and eighth. Lipscomb (656) placed 24th.
* The GLC was divided into two races each for both the men’s and women’s meet. The men’s teams ran in either the gold (9:30 a.m.) or blue (11 a.m.) race, the women in either the gold (10:15 a.m.) or blue (11:45 a.m.) race.
