University of Tennessee Athletics
UT's Bowman, Areson Run to NCAA Championship Berths
November 15, 2008 | Women's Cross Country
Nov. 15, 2008
MARYVILLE, Tenn. -- Traversing a rain-soaked, hilly course in cold, wet and windy conditions, University of Tennessee harriers Sarah Bowman and Jackie Areson delivered national championship-qualifying performances and propelled the Lady Vols to a third-place finish Saturday morning at the NCAA South Region Cross Country Championships at Lambert Acres Golf Club.
Bowman and Areson, who finished second and 11th, respectively, out of a field of 156 runners, punched their tickets to the NCAA Championship meet in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 24. They did so by finishing among the top four individual runners not on automatic qualifying teams. Bowman's time of 20 minutes, 50.29 seconds was the second fastest ever run on the course, following today's winning readout of 20:29.67 by Auburn's Hollie Knight. Areson, meanwhile, covered the 6,000-meter layout in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in 21:15.52.
"They were both very solid today," UT Head Coach J.J. Clark said of Bowman and Areson. "Sarah had no one to run with the entire course, except the young lady who was ahead the whole way. She showed a great deal of poise today.
"The past couple of years, at the regional meet, she wavered during the last part of the race. Today she was very strong and alive, and that was very good to see her advance. Now we'll go to the national meet and see what we can do there.
"Jackie ran a really solid race. I am not surprised by that, because she is very capable. Her talent is quite sufficient to do that at this level. I am glad she showed signs of the Jackie I am used to seeing."
While the UT women's team did not earn an automatic bid to Terre Haute, the Lady Vols seemingly put themselves in position to earn the program's sixth NCAA trip in the past seven seasons. They'll have to wait for the official word to be announced on Sunday night at www.ncaa.com. The Big Orange tallied 116 points to finish third behind repeat region champion and third-ranked Florida State (41) and No. 15 Florida (64), who both confirmed their travel plans for the NCAA meet. Georgia (154) and Auburn (156) rounded out the top five of the 23-school field.
"We went out and were in the race longer, and it was more exciting than last year," Clark said. "They did the best that they could, given our circumstances this season. We've had a lot of obstacles. Brittany Sheffey, Rolanda Bell and Phoebe Wright gave me all they could to help us advance, and I'm proud of what they did.
"We'll just wait to see what the committee decides about us. I'll just leave it at that. All I know right now is that I have two individuals going. Anything else will be a bonus."
As a team, the Lady Vols got out off the starting line in strong fashion, and Knight, the SEC runner-up two weeks ago, and Bowman, who finished behind her at the league meet, set the tone from the outset. Through two miles, Knight was the clear leader, with Bowman and two-time defending champ Susan Kuijken of Florida State offering the biggest challenges. Bowman was able to hold her ground on Kuijken over the final mile-and-a-half and help end the Seminole's two-year run of individual region titles. Knight's and Bowman's times, too, eclipsed the 20:54.1 course record Kuijken had set in 2006.
Bowman (Warrenton, Va.) made her final Lady Vol appearance at Lambert Acres a memorable one, recording the best regional finish of her career after placing 14th a year ago, 23rd in 2006 and 35th in 2005. Areson, meanwhile, nearly posted her second straight top 10 regional outing. Though not running a year ago, the Delray Beach, Fla., native placed 10th in 2006.
"I am proud of myself," Bowman said. "This is the first regional meet where I've actually come and performed. In the past, these meets have just been tough for me. To just be consistent all year and then come out here and make my goal of advancing to nationals feels good.
"To do this on my home course is special. Just to do it in my last race here with all of our fans, our team cheering, the orange in the crowd -- just having that advantage was very nice."
"It feels good to make the NCAA meet," Areson said. "I wasn't worried about the rain or mud at all; it was kind of fun running in it. I knew I could do it, and I know I can run even better than I did today.
"I always race better the second half (of the race), and the first half I always struggle with. My turning point is at the half way point, whether I run well or not the second half. I just told myself I wanted to stay in it and give myself a chance to run well the second half, and I did, so I am happy with that."
Bowman and Areson had scoring help from sophomore Brittany Sheffey (Bellport, N.Y.), senior Rolanda Bell (Laurelton, N.Y.) and junior Phoebe Wright (Signal Mountain, Tenn.). Sheffey covered the distance in 21:42.91 to finish 23rd, followed by Bell in 38th at 22:19.39 and Wright in 42nd at 22:25.16. Non-scoring runners for UT were freshman Ally Colvin (Maryville, Tenn.) in 59th at 22:58.45 and classmate Elizabeth Altizer (Bartlett, Tenn.) in 109th at 24:02.91.
The NCAA meet will be held Nov. 24 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. Race time is 12:05 p.m. Eastern Time for the women. The NCAA's at-large selections are expected to be posted online by 7 p.m. Eastern
Florida State Wins Second Straight NCAA South Regional Title
MARYVILLE, Tenn. - Florida State maintained its hold on the NCAA Women's Cross Country South Regional, winning the program's second straight title here Saturday in comfortable fashion over rival Florida.
Auburn's Hollie Knight claimed individual honors, covering the 6 kilometers in a course record time of 20 minutes, 29.67 seconds.
Both Florida State and Florida earned team automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships, set for Nov. 24 in Terre Haute, Ind.
The Seminoles crossed their five scorers among the top 17 finishers, led by defending region individual champion Susan Kuijken in third place at 21:05.74. Pilar McShine was fourth (21:06.06), Linzi Snow eighth (21:11.75), Lydia Willemse ninth (21:13.07) and Kacey Gibson 17th (21:34.67) for head coach Karen Harvey.
"It's really great that we've got two Florida teams to NCAAs again," Harvey said. "I think that really speaks a lot for our state, which I don't think has been known as a cross country state. So I'm really happy.
"It's all about being fit and being focused. We wanted to run as easy as possible and, to be honest, we were playing off the Florida Gators. We knew they were good so we were kind of playing off them and I'm sure they were playing off us too."
Florida tallied 64 points, led by fifth-place Genevieve LaCaze in a time of 21:06.89. Other scorers for the Gators were Jacy Kruzel in sixth (21:08.18), Ali Crabb 10th (21:13.24), Charlotte Browning 13th (21:24.22) and Sara Petrick 30th (22:08.05).
Knight, who finished second at the SEC Championships earlier this month, broke the Lambert Acres course record of 20:54.1 set two years ago by Florida State's Kuijken.
"I felt I could have a good race," Knight said. "I went hard and took it out from the start. I just wanted to get an individual position. I felt comfortable and the course worked well for me.
"The gap pretty much happened. I knew I had to go our hard and didn't know if people would stay with me or be taking it easy the week before nationals. The gap played out pretty well, I guess."
Temperatures Saturday were in the low 50s, with winds at 15-20 mph amid occasional sprinkles.
Tennessee's Sarah Bowman placed second individually and also finished ahead of the previous course record, clocking 20:50.29. The Lady Vols as a team finished third with 106 points and must await word on an at-large bid to the finals.
"It was good to be up there; I really wanted to qualify for nationals," Bowman said. "I definitely have been trying to push through and working really hard to do the best I can do. It was a blessing that the rain had stopped. The course was really soggy, but it kind of makes it exciting to battle the elements a little bit."
The top four individuals not on advancing teams also qualified automatically for the NCAA finals. Joining Knight and Bowman punching tickets for Terre Haute were Alabama's Sara Vaughn, the seventh-place overall finisher at 21:09.38, and Tennessee Jackie Areson, who was 11th at 21:15.52.
Georgia was fourth with 154 points, followed closely by Auburn's 156. UAB (198) and Vanderbilt (200) were next, with Alabama (219), Belmont (309) and Jacksonville (348) rounding out the top 10. At-large selections are being announced Sunday.
Team and Individual Champions Quotes
Florida State women's cross country head coach Karen Harvey:
On repeating as NCAA South Regional champions:
"To be honest with you our goal wasn't to win. We wanted to run as easy as possible to get to Nationals."
On runner-up Florida:
"It's really great that we've got two Florida teams to NCAAs again. I think that really speaks a lot for our state, which I don't think has been known as a cross country state. So I'm really happy.
On race strategy:
"It's all about being fit and being focused. We wanted to run as easy as possible and, to be honest with you, we were playing off the Florida Gators. We knew they were good so we were kind of playing off them and I'm sure they were playing off us too."
Women's individual champion Hollie Knight of Auburn:
On winning the NCAA South Region:
"I felt I could have a good race. I went hard and took it out from the start. I just wanted to get an individual position. I felt comfortable and the course worked well for me."
On putting a gap between herself and the chase pack:
"The gap pretty much happened. I knew I had to go out hard and didn't know if people would stay with me or be taking it easy the week before nationals. The gap played out pretty well, I guess."
On the race preparing her for the NCAA Championships:
"It gives me a lot of confidence especially on a tough course like this. Just winning regionals is a great accomplishment. I ran a good time, though, and it definitely gives me a lot of confidence."
