Spring Break
W. cross country finishes 13th in the nation
Issue date: 12/4/08
The women's cross country team had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving after a truly amazing season. First, they had taken the Centennial Conference title, then the Mideast regional title before finally earning their top 15 finish at Nationals, ending the year on an up, up, up. This was the second appearance at Nationals for the women's team, their first being in 2007. "Our goal is certainly to improve upon our performance at Nationals last season," Coach Van Allen said before the meet. With their 13th-place finish, the team placed a massive 16 spots ahead of their 29th placing in 2007.
The team lined up against the nation's top 32 teams at the NCAA Championships in Hanover, IN on Saturday. In less than 25 minutes, the team's seven runners had all crossed the line, they had finished 13th and once again had stamped their mark on the Jay history books.
For a college athlete it doesn't get any bigger than competing at Nationals. Sophomore co-captain Mary O'Grady described the experience. "The atmosphere at nationals was conducive to the excitement we were already feeling. Fans lined the entire course running back and forth with the runners. There was even a billboard along the highway promoting the NCAA cross country Championships." Team superstar Laura Paulsen shared O'Grady's excitement.
"The spectators were crazy and you get pumped up and psyched because you realize you're at nationals and that's awesome," Paulsen said.
The atmosphere clearly worked for Paulsen as she led the Jays with a time of 21.37.36 and took 31st place, eight places ahead of her 39th place finish in 2007. For Paulsen, it was a fitting end to a successful season, in which she took the top spot in the Centennial Conference race and finally won her All-American honors.
"I was so happy to finally get All-American!" Paulsen said. "I've been chasing after it for a while now, so to finish on this note was so great." The rest of the squad didn't finish the season too badly either.
The team lined up against the nation's top 32 teams at the NCAA Championships in Hanover, IN on Saturday. In less than 25 minutes, the team's seven runners had all crossed the line, they had finished 13th and once again had stamped their mark on the Jay history books.
For a college athlete it doesn't get any bigger than competing at Nationals. Sophomore co-captain Mary O'Grady described the experience. "The atmosphere at nationals was conducive to the excitement we were already feeling. Fans lined the entire course running back and forth with the runners. There was even a billboard along the highway promoting the NCAA cross country Championships." Team superstar Laura Paulsen shared O'Grady's excitement.
"The spectators were crazy and you get pumped up and psyched because you realize you're at nationals and that's awesome," Paulsen said.
The atmosphere clearly worked for Paulsen as she led the Jays with a time of 21.37.36 and took 31st place, eight places ahead of her 39th place finish in 2007. For Paulsen, it was a fitting end to a successful season, in which she took the top spot in the Centennial Conference race and finally won her All-American honors.
"I was so happy to finally get All-American!" Paulsen said. "I've been chasing after it for a while now, so to finish on this note was so great." The rest of the squad didn't finish the season too badly either.
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