Friday, November 12
Waco, Texas
10:00 A.M. CT
Rice University
vs
NCAA South Central Regional (Baylor)
Owls Qualify for NCAA Championships
11/12/2021 12:12:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
Grace Forbes wins individual title
WACO, Texas – Spearheaded by an individual victory from All-American Grace Forbes, the Rice Owls women's cross country team punched their ticket as a team to the NCAA Championships for the seventh time in program history by placing second overall at the NCAA South Central Regional Friday morning at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco.
"It's incredibly hard to make the NCAA Championships because only 31 teams in the country make it," Rice women's head coach Jim Bevan said. "It's almost like having already advanced in the opening round of every other NCAA Tournament. To do this for the seventh time is incredible. This time it was extra special because nobody outside of our group believed we had a chance. But our team believed and were gelling and getting fit at the right time. A long time ago in the 80's, Rice had a saying "Yes, Rice can", and that's what we were yelling pre-race. Rice can and we did."
Rice, who entered the meet ranked No. 4 in the region and unranked in the national poll, placed four runners in the Top-20 and totaled 96 points to overtake the favored Texas Longhorns (101 points) to grab the NCAA Championships qualifying second place.
Forbes secured her fifth victory of the season with a time of 19:59.3 in the 6k race, 16 seconds faster than the No. 2 overall finisher in Arkansas' Isabel Van Camp. The Wallingford, Pa. native ran at 5:21 mile pace with spits of 10:15 (3k) and 16:49 (5k). She became just the second Owl to win an NCAA Regional title, joining former Rice great Nicole Mericle, who took home individual honors in both 2008 and 2010.
"Winning the individual title is nice but having us make it as a team when we were underdogs is the greatest feeling in the world," Forbes said. "Everyone had a fantastic race, I lost my voice I was screaming so loud for them. We improved every single meet as the season went along and it really showed today. Next weekend is going to be magical. You always dream to have your teammates by your side at the national championship and now it's going to be a reality."
In addition to Forbes, the Owls received All-Region performances (Top-25) from sophomore Caitlin Wosika (13th-21:12), senior Lourdes Vivas de Lorenzi (20th-21:25) and sophomore Taigen Hunter-Galvan (21st-21:25). Sophomore Rachel Shoemaker was the Owls' fifth finisher, placing 49th in a time of 22:11.
It was an inspiring effort from the entire group, one that came together at just the right time according to Bevan.
"Grace asked me before the race, "If I win does that give us a chance? My dream would be for the team to make it," Bevan said. "That just goes to show you how special a person and teammate she is. Caitlin was unbelievable and Lourdes had her best performance in three years fighting back from injuries and illnesses. Taigen has put it all together and Rachel was passing people late when it mattered. I told them all, one point could make a difference today. To go from where we were at the start of the year when we were getting beat by A&M-Corpus, Texas A&M, and Abilene Christian - it just goes to show that it's all about peaking at the right time and we did."
The Owls will now set their eyes on the NCAA Championships, which will take place Saturday, Nov. 20 in Tallahassee, Fla. at 9:20 a.m. (CT).
Rice Performers
1. Grace Forbes – 19:59.3
13. Caitlin Wosika – 21:12.2
20. Lourdes Vivas de Lorenzi – 21:25.2
21. Taigen Hunter-Galvan – 21:25.5
49. Rachel Shoemaker – 22:11.1
59. Haley Allen – 22:28.1
65. Alyssa Balandran – 22:35.7
"It's incredibly hard to make the NCAA Championships because only 31 teams in the country make it," Rice women's head coach Jim Bevan said. "It's almost like having already advanced in the opening round of every other NCAA Tournament. To do this for the seventh time is incredible. This time it was extra special because nobody outside of our group believed we had a chance. But our team believed and were gelling and getting fit at the right time. A long time ago in the 80's, Rice had a saying "Yes, Rice can", and that's what we were yelling pre-race. Rice can and we did."
Rice, who entered the meet ranked No. 4 in the region and unranked in the national poll, placed four runners in the Top-20 and totaled 96 points to overtake the favored Texas Longhorns (101 points) to grab the NCAA Championships qualifying second place.
Forbes secured her fifth victory of the season with a time of 19:59.3 in the 6k race, 16 seconds faster than the No. 2 overall finisher in Arkansas' Isabel Van Camp. The Wallingford, Pa. native ran at 5:21 mile pace with spits of 10:15 (3k) and 16:49 (5k). She became just the second Owl to win an NCAA Regional title, joining former Rice great Nicole Mericle, who took home individual honors in both 2008 and 2010.
"Winning the individual title is nice but having us make it as a team when we were underdogs is the greatest feeling in the world," Forbes said. "Everyone had a fantastic race, I lost my voice I was screaming so loud for them. We improved every single meet as the season went along and it really showed today. Next weekend is going to be magical. You always dream to have your teammates by your side at the national championship and now it's going to be a reality."
In addition to Forbes, the Owls received All-Region performances (Top-25) from sophomore Caitlin Wosika (13th-21:12), senior Lourdes Vivas de Lorenzi (20th-21:25) and sophomore Taigen Hunter-Galvan (21st-21:25). Sophomore Rachel Shoemaker was the Owls' fifth finisher, placing 49th in a time of 22:11.
It was an inspiring effort from the entire group, one that came together at just the right time according to Bevan.
"Grace asked me before the race, "If I win does that give us a chance? My dream would be for the team to make it," Bevan said. "That just goes to show you how special a person and teammate she is. Caitlin was unbelievable and Lourdes had her best performance in three years fighting back from injuries and illnesses. Taigen has put it all together and Rachel was passing people late when it mattered. I told them all, one point could make a difference today. To go from where we were at the start of the year when we were getting beat by A&M-Corpus, Texas A&M, and Abilene Christian - it just goes to show that it's all about peaking at the right time and we did."
The Owls will now set their eyes on the NCAA Championships, which will take place Saturday, Nov. 20 in Tallahassee, Fla. at 9:20 a.m. (CT).
Rice Performers
1. Grace Forbes – 19:59.3
13. Caitlin Wosika – 21:12.2
20. Lourdes Vivas de Lorenzi – 21:25.2
21. Taigen Hunter-Galvan – 21:25.5
49. Rachel Shoemaker – 22:11.1
59. Haley Allen – 22:28.1
65. Alyssa Balandran – 22:35.7
-RiceOwls.com-
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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