University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
NCAA Pre-Nationals
Successful Day For Richmond Cross Country At ISU Pre-Nationals
10/16/2010 | Cross Country
The Richmond men's and women's cross country teams had impressive showings at the Pre-National Invitational on Saturday. The Spider women finished 12th out of 39 teams and the men finished 16th out of 35 teams.
The weather in Terre Haute, also known as "Cross Country Town USA", was ideal for racing. According to men's head coach Steve Taylor, "It was a perfect day for cross country with blue skies and cool temperatures," allowing for a dry race course.
The women were led by redshirt-senior Amy Van Alstine who finished 32nd out of 261 women (20:53.5). Senior Nicol Traynor followed, coming in 42nd-place with a time of 21:05.6. Senior Julie Rechel came in 79th-place (21:29.8), freshman Jill Prentice finished 113th (21:48.3), and redshirt-senior Jenn Ennis finished 137th (21:58.4). In addition, sophomore Dana Guglielmo came in 166th (22:17.4) and freshman Roxanne Henningson finished 192nd (22:32.8).
With a 12th-place finish, the Spider women beat NCAA 25th-ranked Arkansas and previously ranked 30th, Notre Dame. Richmond also defeated the Southeast Region teams participating in the blue race, including Clemson (ranked fifth in the Southeast) and William and Mary (14th). For a complete list of the women's team results, national ranking and regional ranking, click here.
"We ran real well today and beat several teams, which was our goal, that are currently or have been nationally ranked this season," said women's head coach Lori Taylor. "We placed ourselves in the middle of NCAA top 25 ranked teams and brought our split back down to 1 minute since our last race. We also beat several teams that have been ranked ahead of us within the NCAA Region."
To view video coverage of the women's 6K blue race, follow the click link.
As for the men, redshirt-senior Matt Llano led the pack, finishing 21st out of 231 men with a time of 24:04.9. Second for the Spiders was senior Tim Quinn who finished 48th overall and was clocked at 24:26.0. Next was redshirt-senior Andrew Benford who had a chance at a top-10 finish, but struggled in the last leg of the race. Benford came in 66th overall with a time of 24:37.5.
"It was a tough day for Andrew Benford," said Steve Taylor. "He was running amazingly well and moved to ninth -lace at 23:45 pace, but with 20 yards to go, he lost his legs and fell. It is unfortunate and I feel for him because he gets no credit in the results for what he did for 7,980 meters. He ran with heart and guts, as did several of our athletes. I respect what they are doing."
The rest of the Spider men included: junior Levi Grandt in 147th-place(25:23.9), redshirt-senior Jon Wilson in 170th (25:44.4), freshman Ryan Lee in 171st (25:44.5), and sophomore Chris York in 181st (25:49.5).
Overall, the men finished 16th, defeating NCAA-ranked UTEP (40th in the NCAA) and Michigan State (20th). The Spiders also beat A-10 rival Dayton who came in 21st-place, and Southeastern competitor Clemson who finished 33rd. For a complete list of the men's team results, national and regional rank, click here and scroll down to the men's page.
"Our men ran tough," said Taylor. "We improved on our start since Paul Short, which has been part of our focus. We were in great position at 5K today but fell back a bit in the final 3K. We'll work on that in the next 3 weeks before we go to our A-10 championships in 2 weeks and NCAA Regional Championships in 4 weeks. Teams within our region ran well, which will help us all in the at-large team points at the end of the season."
To view video coverage of the men's 8K blue race, follow the click link.
The meet, hosted by Indiana State University, was held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. Considered a unique course, the venue was designed and built specifically for cross country racing. The land consists of rolling hills and has a vantage point that allows for spectators to stand in one location and see most of the race. Familiarity with the course will help Richmond when the team travels to Terre Haute for the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's National Cross Country Championship on Nov. 22.
Lori Taylor went on to say, "Our athletes need to continue their focus on our team goals for this season and continue to put ourselves in the position to be back here as a team at the NCAA Championships this November."
Make sure to check out the Pre-Nationals 
Photo Gallery.
For more in-depth coverage on the race, visit Coach Taylor's blog, or follow him on Twitter.
