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Butler Cross Country Teams Place In The Top Four At The Great Lakes Regional
Nov. 11, 2006
Senior Scott Overall posted a runner-up individual finish and helped lead the Butler men's cross country team to a third place finish at the NCAA Division I Great Lakes Regional Cross Country Meet held in Bowling Green, Ohio, on Saturday, Nov. 11. Butler's women, behind a strong balanced effort, claimed fourth place in the women's competition. Overall and teammate Alex Hains locked in a four-way dual with Corey Nowitzke of Eastern Michigan and Jordan Kyle of Indiana in the men's 10 K race. Hains was leading at 5 ½ K, but slipped back and wound up finishing fourth with a time of 31:03.59. Nowitzke pulled away to win the individual title in 30:57.94, while Overall crossed the finish line in 31:01.17. Kyle came in third in 31:02.43. The strong individual performances of Overall and Hains was nearly enough to gain Butler an automatic berth in the NCAA National Championship, but the Bulldogs wound up three points behind runner-up and automatic qualifier Notre Dame. Wisconsin won the men's race. Following the two Butler leaders were junior Richard Kay, who came in 23rd in 31:50.66, and junior Darren Gauson, who placed 27th in 31:55.37. Freshman Justin Roeder completed Butler's scoring quintet with a 51st place finish in 32:28.59. Senior Andy Rayner came in 58th in 32:35.32, while senior Vinny Ambrico was 62nd in 32:37.68.
Butler's women placed four runners in the top 30 to finish behind team champ Michigan State and nationally-ranked squads from Wisconsin and Michigan. Senior Ava Hutchinson paced the Bulldogs with an 11th place individual finish in 21:17.32, while senior Jenni Pereira came in 13th in 21:30.28. Junior Claire Holme finished 16th in 21:47.06 and junior Genni Gardner wound up 26th in 22:00.96. Butler's fifth runner was freshman Marbeth Shiell, who wound up 45th in 22:29.11. Rounding out Butler's squad in the women's 6 K race were junior Sarah Kemple, who placed 93rd in 23:21.89, and sophomore Caitlin Helgeson, who wound up 127th in 23:52.03. "Both of our teams were awesome today," beamed Butler head coach Joe Franklin. "I was especially pleased with our women's team. It was the best performance in the history of women's cross country at Butler!" The top two men's and women's teams at the Great Lakes Regional earn automatic qualification to the NCAA National Meet. Both Butler teams will have to wait for the at-large selections to be announced. |
