LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Oct. 13 - Southern Utah Cross Country hit the national stage this weekend as the squads competed at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on the Louisville course that will host the 2012 National Championship. The Thunderbird women finished 13th in a field of 38 teams from around the country, while the men finished 22nd in a field of 40 teams.
"All in all it was an awesome meet for both squads," head coach Eric Houle said. "It was great to get out and compete on a big stage like this and I think we really accomplished what we came here to do."
Nate Jewkes led the Thunderbirds at Pre-Nats, finishing 14th overall in a field of 272 runners and recording an 8k time of 23:42.1. He was followed by Ryan Barrus with a 29th-place time of 23:53.1. John Hart and Devan Antczak finished next for the men's squad, finishing 142nd and 193rd and recording respective times of 24:46.9 and 25:13.2. Clinton Rhoton wrapped up the team's score with a 206th-place finish and time of 25:19.8.
Jamie Smith also recorded a top-30 finish at Louisville, leading the women's squad with a 28th-place 6k time of 20:42.4 in a field of 265 runners. Sylvia Bedford and Kirsten Bradford scored next for the women, coming in 79th and 83rd place with respective times of 21:25.2 and 21:26.6. The top five was completed by Danielle Jewkes and Shelli Mogensen, who crossed the finish line in 21:36.9 and 22:19.6 and placed 103rd and 182nd respectively.
"This was really a great meet to help us get primed for the rest of the season," Houle said. "It's a good level to compete at right before the conference championship."
The Thunderbirds will now have two weeks to prepare for the team's first conference championship in the Big Sky, which will take place on Oct. 27 in Flagstaff, Ariz.
