Section B·Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, November 24, 1998
Colorado runner acquires men's championship win
Brad Mallior Kansan sportswriter
Colorado's Adam Goucher wanted to finish his college running career in style.
And here is.
Goucher ran away from the pack at the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships yesterday at Rim Rock Farm, finishing with a course-record time of 29.26.9, exactly 26 seconds ahead of runner-up Abdilahman of Arizona.
"At the five-mile mark, I let it all out," Goucher said. "It feels wonderful. I wanted to go out with a bang and see what I could do, and that's what I did."
Goucher became the second American-born runner in the last decade to win the championship.
His victory capped a successful career that included a fourth-place finish at nationals last year, sixth-place finish as a sophomore and a second-place finish as a freshman.
Abdirahman and Butler University's Julius Mwangi were expected to challenge Goucher for the individual title. Abdirahman and Mwangi finished second and third respectively.
"I am happy I finished second." Abdirahman said. "I ran my best race, but I wasn't feeling well this morning. I started feeling better at the end of the race. I couldn't be happier."
He added that he was happy for Goucher as well.
"He has been working toward this for five years," he said, "I wish him the best of luck."
Goucher said that he, Mwangi and Abdirahman broke away from the pack around Suicide Turn during the fourth mile.
"I let Abdi surge when he wanted, and I hoped to benefit from that later in the race," Goucher said. "There was basically a series of surges between he and I while we were trying to feel each other out. I just tried to pull away when I could."
Mwangi was graceful with his third-place finish, but he had to battle Wisconsin's Matthew Downin. Mwangi edged Downin by one-tenth of a second.
"I believe that if you don't accept defeat you are not a winner," Mwangi said. "I feel I did my best. I felt strong, but I twisted my leg a little around four miles. But I did regain my energy at the end."
The men's team competition was not quite as close as the women's team competition.
The top-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks won their ninth team title, and its first since 1995. Its 97 points were 17 better than runner-up Stanford's 114 points.
No Razorback finished worse than 40th, but Arkansas coach John McDonnell said the wait for the official team results was nerve-racking.
"Last year we waited a long time, and we lost by three points," he said. "This was sweet because we beat a good field, a very good Stanford team and a very good Colorado team."
Villanova edges Stanford Brigham Young for win
Bv Brad Hallier
Kansan sportswriter
Before the NCAA Women's Cross-Country Championships, Brigham Young University and Stanford University were considered the heavy favorites.
And why not?
During the 1997 championships, BYU won the team title with 100 points. The team's top three runners from last year's championships, who finished in the Top 32, returned this year.
Stanford finished a close second last year with 102 points. Noother team finished within 75 points.
The Cougars edged the Cardinals again this year by only one point. But in the end, it was Villanova holding the championship trophy, edging the defending champions 106-110, with Stanford finishing third at 111 points.
"I thought there was no way we had won because I thought I saw five BYU runners in before us," said Villanova assistant coach Gina Procaccio. "We were talking about going home when I was approached saying that we had a chance. I asked our men's coach if he had heard anything, and just then I heard on the walkie-talkie that Villanova had won."
Villanova's team did not even qualify for the 1997 championships, but it did have the individual champion. Carrie Tollefson.
Tolleffon returned to lead a balanced Villanova
finish. Even though the highest Wildcat finished
10th, four Villanova runners placed in the top 18. BYU coach Patrick Shane said his team made a worthless effort with his team's second place finish
"Somebody has to finish second, and somebody has to finish third and so on," he said. "If we only raced for first, it would be a sad thing. I congratulate Villanova and Stanford for a great race. Coming in, we knew that there were four or five teams that could win it all."
Michigan's Katie McGregor held off Arizona's Amy Skiresz winning the 5,000 meter individual title. McGregor's time was 16:47.21, more than six seconds ahead of Skiresz's time of 16:53.52.
"Amy's a great runner," McGregor said. "The win means a lot today, but it's basically about who has a good day and who doesn't. There are about 10-15 runners out there who wanted it, and I guess I had a better day than them."
"I was pretty dead at the end of the race, and I didn't have a lot left. Skiersz said. "I was kind of like flashbacks from last year, but I did what I could do. Katie had a better race than me."
This marked the second year that Skieresz finished a close second. She finished 10 seconds behind Tollefson last year.
Michigan coach Mike Maguire said he and McGreeor had a couple of plans for her race.
Onlookers debate weather, course
"She's adaptable, and once Katie got in the middle of the race, we knew she had a shot as long as she kept a reasonable distance." Maguire said. "She knows how to find the finish line."
By Brandon Stinnett
Special to the Kansan
People from across the nation converged on the Rim Rock Farm cross country course yesterday to watch the NCAA Division I and II Cross Country Championships.
The crowd converged on the course north of Lawrence from all directions, backing up traffic for a couple of miles as race time approached.
Reaction to the sunny day, the course and the meet largely was positive from a crowd with varying backgrounds and a common interest in cross country running.
Joe Newton, a cross country coach at York (III.) High School for 43 years and a guest of former Kansas track coach Bob Timmon, said he was impressed with the course's design.
"It's a wonderful course, the best in the history of the United States," he said. "I've never seen a crowd like this at one of these meets. It's a happening. It's good for Kansas. It's good for KU. It's good for everyone."
Colorado native Lynn Reese was not quite as enthusiastic. Reese said he was there to cheer on his son, Tommy Reese, who ran for Colorado and was shooting for his second consecutive berth on the All-America team.
"Last year, when we went to the Division I meet back in North Carolina, there were just as many people, but the parking facilities were a lot better," Lynn Reese said. "This was real, real hard to get in. If there had been any snow or rain, this deal would have been a disaster."
Parking problems aside, Reese said he enjoyed the meet.
Chuck Branson, Sedalia Mo., came to support his great-great nephew, Nicholas Cyder, a runner for Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Branson said he enjoyed the meet but was overwhelmed by the attendance.
"This is my first meet," he said. "It's great. It looks like it's pretty well planned. It has to be to take care of this many people. I was lucky to even find my family. They just happened to be sitting down on the ground. I was looking for Nicholas' dad."
Margaret Adams, Indianapolis, Ind., resident, drove 12 hours Sunday night to watch her granddaughter, Courtney Adams, compete for Stanford.
"I think this is a beautiful place," said
Adams. "I've been to a lot of these meets, and this is just perfect."
While most people seemed to enjoy the unseasonably warm temperature and blue sky, Ken Beringer, a supporter from the University of South Dakota, said he did not welcome the pleasant weather conditions.
"The nice weather hurts this university," Beringer said. "We're used to cold weather and wind. The more adversity, the better we run."
Left, Colorado senior runner, Matt Goucher, turns the corner in front of Arizona runner, Abdi Abdirahim. Goucher won the 1998 NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championship's 10K race yesterday at Rim Rock Farm. Photo by Augustus Anthony Piazza/KANSAN
Steve Schell of Michigan State University is helped by race officials as he collapses at the finish line. The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship men's race was a 10k won by Adam Goucher of Colorado. Photo by Graham K. Johnson/KANSAN
Katie McGregor of the University of Michigan nears the finish line. McGregor won the NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Championships yesterday at Rim Rock Farm. Photo by Graham K.
Johnson/KANSAN
Adams State corners Division II cross country championships
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For the Adams State men, nobody placed lower than 18th, and they finished with 68 team points. Western State of Colorado, which is in the same conference and region as Adams State, finished second with 74 points. South Dakota finished a close-third with 81 points.
Adams State of Colorado swept the team competition at the NCAA Division-II Cross Country Championships at Rim Rock Farm yesterday.
Freshman Yi Min Wu of Edinboro, Pa. was crowned the Division II champ with a time of 31:06.6.
Rittsburg State was the only Kansas school to field an entire men's team, and it finished 15th with 324 points.
The Adams State women smoked the field by more than 20 points. They had the first and third-place finishers, and they finished with 56 points.
Kimberly Bugg overcame South Dakota's Molly Wedel's 60-meter deficit with less than a mile to run to win the individual title with a time of 21:43.0.
Brad Hallor
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