Owls Run at Pre-National
10/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 16, 2008
The 24th ranked Rice Owls women's cross country team competes Saturday at the Pre-National meet in Terre Haute, Ind. at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. The meet is hosted by Indiana State University and it is the same location where the NCAA Championship will be held on Nov. 24.
The Owls will run in the Blue Race at 10 a.m. (Central). Also, slotted in the 6,000 meter event are several nationally ranked teams including No. 1 Washington, No. 4 Minnesota, No. 6 Stanford, No. 9 Michigan State, No. 13 Villanova, No. 15 Florida, No. 16 Wisconsin, No. 18 N.C. State, and No. 21 Providence.
"This is an important meet for our potential success," comments Rice head coach Jim Bevan. "The Pre-National is where you run to receive points to qualify for the NCAA championship. We will be running on a great course and against the best competition in the nation. I really believe that this year's squad can be better than last season's, but it starts by running a great race on Saturday."
Running for Rice are Allison Pye, Nicole Mericle, Lennie Waite, Britany Williams, Keltie John, and Laura Hudson. Also, sophomore Becky Wade is schedule to make her first appearance this year for the Pre-National meet. Wade last season, as a freshman placed fifth at the Conference USA Championship.
"It is great to have Becky (Wade) back running for us," says Bevan. "With her running it greatly enhances our chances for the Conference USA meet and for the NCAA championship. Plus, the rest of the team has become more fit since running at Notre Dame (Oct. 3) and I feel that we can improve upon our 2007 finish."
Last year, the Owls placed seventh at the Pre-National with 224 points.
Team Assignments
10 a.m. (Central) Blue Race:
Air Force, Arizona, Auburn, BYU, Central Michigan, Charlotte, Cornell, East Carolina, Florida, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Illinois State, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Miami University, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Carolina, N.C. State, New Mexico, Oakland, Ohio, Oklahoma State, Penn, Providence, Rice, South Carolina, Stanford, UC-Santa Barbara, Utah State, Villanova, Washington State, Washington, Weber State, Wisconsin. (41)
10:35 a.m. (Central) White Race:
Akron, Arizona State, Ball State, Baylor, California, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Colorado, Columbia, Dayton, Eastern Michigan, Florida State, Georgetown, Harvard, Illinois, Liberty, Loyola (Ill), Michigan, Morehead State, Northern Arizona, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Mississippi, Princeton, Purdue, Southern Utah, Stony Brook, Syracuse, Tulsa, UC-Davis, UC-Riverside, UC-Irvine, UCLA, Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia, William and Mary, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Wichita State. (42)
Players Mentioned
