Cross Country: Owls Look to Defend WAC Title This Weekend
10/26/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
The women's 5,000-meter run will commence at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Mohawk Park, in Tulsa, Okla. Leading the Owls will be freshman Shannon Murto. Murto has run consistently this fall, including two second place finishes. After the loss of junior Katie Waite (for medical reasons), Murto has stepped in as the Owls top runner. She finished second at the Rice Invitational and the UTSA Invitational, and helped lead Rice to a ninth place finish at the Paul Short Invitational earlier this month. Her performance at that meet earned her WAC runner of the week honors for the week of October 9. In the last regular season meet of the fall, Murto finished seventh at the Texas A&M Invitational. Also leading the charge for the Owls will be freshman Whitney McAlpine, junior Erin Brand, sophomores Summer Bell, Liza Ruckman and Amy Teteris. McAlpine's best finish this season was fifth at the UTSA Invitational. She was followed closely by Ruckman, who crossed the finish line in eighth, and Bell, who finished ninth. Brand posted a top 15 finish at the Rice Invitational, while Teteris came in 22nd at the Texas A&M Invitational.
"We're the healthiest we've been all year," women's head coach Jim Bevan said. "We've also got the best team we've had all year, and I think we'll have our best run all year. It will definitely be a better meet, all around, than last year."
On the men's side, look for senior John Jura to continue his stellar performance. Jura was last week's WAC runner of the week following his 10th place finish at the Texas A&M Invitational. Jura has set the pace this fall for the Owls, leading the men to a 15th place finish at the Paul Short Invitational and a victory at the Rice Invitational. He has been the Owls' top finisher in all three meets this season. Teammates Keith Pierce, Tim Oberg, Scott Palmer and Jeremy LaBuff have also contributed in a positive way for Rice this fall. Pierce's best finish came at home when he placed fourth at the Rice Invitational. Oberg, Palmer and LaBuff have all been consistent finishers in each of the Owls' meets. The men's 8,000-meter race is slated to begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
"John [Jura] is running great for us right now," men's head coach Jon Warren said. "He is physically and mentally ready, and needs a decent race to better his top 10 finish from last year."
Results will be posted on the WAC website at www.wacsports.com. Those individuals and teams qualifying for NCAA regional action will compete on November 11 at various regional sites. The NCAA men's and women's cross country championships will be held in Ames, Iowa on November 21.
