Air Force To Compete In NCAA Cross Country Championships
11/12/2001 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 12, 2001
The Academy's men's cross country team will make its second trip in two years to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Greenville, S.C., Nov. 19. For the first time since the Academy's women's program went Division I, the Falcons will also send a woman to the NCAA meet.
The 20th-ranked Falcons earned an at-large spot to the 'big dance' after finishing fifth overall in the Mountain Region, while Brandess Pardue, a sophomore from Aurora, Co., earned her spot after finishing 23rd. This year's automatic berths went to the men and women's teams from the University of Colorado and Northern Arizona, at-large bids also went to the men and women' teams from Brigham Young and Colorado State.
In 2000, the men's team finished 16th at nationals. The last time the Falcons had a back-to-back appearance at the NCAAs was in 1967 (second) and '68 (22nd), and the last time the women went to nationals was in 1995 (sixth), when Air Force was still competing Division II.
Pardue will be the first Academy woman to participate at nationals in Division I. She is the first woman under coach Mark Stanforth's leadership to earn all-region.
In the region, fifth place is the men's highest team finish since 1994 when the Falcons placed fourth, but did not qualify for nationals. In 1995, the Academy's women's team finished third in the region and qualified for nationals, finishing sixth.
Air Force runners David Romero and Benjamin Payne earned all-region honors after finishing fifth and 20th, respectively. Pardue also earned all-region honors after finishing 23rd.
Furman University will host the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Greenville, S.C., Nov. 19. The men's 10K race will start at 11:00 a.m., the women's 6K will start at 12:15.
The top 10 runners at the Mountain Region meet were: 1. Jorge Torres, Colorado 30:52.3 2. Dathan Ritzenhein, Colorado 30:52.8 3. Teren Jameson, University of Utah 30:53.2 4. Ed Torres, Colorado 31:07.3 5. Travis Laird, Northern Arizona Univers 31:09.0 6. John Hedengren, Brigham Young University 31:19.9 7. David Romero, Air Force Academy 31:24.1 8. Henrick Ahnstrom, Northern Arizona Univ. 31:26.78 9. Matt Gonzales, New Mexico 31:28.6 10.Bashar Ibrahim, UTEP 31:32.3
The top 25 finishers in the women's 6,000 meters were: 1. Jodie Hughes, Colorado 21:13.9, 2. Tara Northcutt, Brigham Young University 21:21.0 3. Molly Austin, Colorado 21:21.6 4. Ida Nilsson, Northern Arizona Univ. 21:26.2 5. Jessie Kindschi, Brigham Young Univ. 21:32.7 6. Susan Rutherford, Northern Arizona Univ. 21:37.2 7. Lindsey Thomsen, Brigham Young Univ. 21:43.4 8. Sarah Taylor, Brigham Young Univ. 21:47.0 9. Nan Evans, Brigham Young Univ. 21:49.4 10. Marget Larson, Colorado State Univ. 21:51.5 11. Katherine Yemm, Colorado State Univ. 22:02.9 12. Michaela Manova, Brigham Young Univ. 22:05.3 13. Natalie Florence, Colorado 22:15.0 14. Jinny Hanifan, Northern Arizona Univ. 22:19.3 15. Tera Moody, Colorado 22:23.7 16. Lesley Higgins, Colorado 22:25.4 17. Amy Bair, Brigham Young Univ. 22:26.2 18. Kim Leal, Colorado State Univ. 22:27.9 19. Jacquelyne Gallegos, University of New Mexico 22:29.8 20. Colleen Blair, Colorado State Univ. 22:31.7 21. Cynthia Losee,Weber State Univ. 22:33.5 22. Erika Edwards, Northern Arizona Univ. 22:41.2 23. Brandess Pardue, Air Force Academy 22:43.9 24. Corine Van Beek, UTEP 22:46.8 25. Melanie McClellan, Utah State 22:48.7
Mountain Region Championships Men's Results: Colorado (48), Northern Arizona (93), Brigham Young (115), Colorado State (119), Air Force (133), Utah (138), Utah State (181), Weber State (181), New Mexico (189), Montana State (255), UTEP (296), Southern Utah (324), Idaho State (340), Texas Tech (361), Montana (381), Wyoming (491), Denver (507).
Women Results: BYU (31), Colorado (48), Northern Arizona (81), CSU (85), Weber State (159), Southern Utah (238), Air Force (243), Utah (267), Utah State (272), Texas Tech (293), Nevada (301), New Mexico (332), Montana State (346), New Mexico State (360), Idaho State (394), Wyoming (411), Denver (499).
