Oct. 16, 2005
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Both of the University of Portland's cross country teams competed at the NCAA Pre-Nationals Meet held in Terre Haute, Ind. on Saturday morning. The Pilot men ran to a fifth place finish in their heat, while the women's team placed 16th in the White section. Both the men's and the women's divisions were split evenly into two sections based on pre-meet seedings.
Michael Kilburg was the first finisher for the Pilots, placing 29th with a time of 24:26 at the eight-kilometer LaVern Gibson Championship Course. There was just a 19-second spread between Portland's top five finishers, as David Kinsella (24:35), John Moore (24:37), Chris Olinger (24:44), and Micah Rolfe (24:45) all finished closely behind Kilburg.
"It was a very difficult race, and we survived," Portland men's head coach Rob Conner said of the hot and sunny meet. "And we beat some very important teams, so we feel good about that."
The Pilots beat two teams ranked above them in the latest edition of the Mondo Cross Country Poll. No. 8 Iona College finished in ninth place, while No. 15 William & Mary placed sixth.
Chuck McKenzie (25:08) and Justin Houck (26:27) were the sixth and seventh men across the line for the Pilots. Colorado ended up winning the section, placing each of its top five runners in the meet's top 30. Liberty's Josh McDougal was the top individual finisher, crossing the line in a time of 23:13.
Ashlee Vincent ran a solid race for the women's team, which finished in 16th place in the White section of the meet. Vincent placed 15th individually, completing the six-kilometer course in 21:00. Kathy Rice was the only other Pilot to break the 22-minute barrier, finishing with a time of 21:52. Kelsey Metcalfe (22:04), Elise Sabin (22:22), Sifrash Ademe (22:45), and Amie Dahnke (23:49) were the other finishers for the Pilots.
"I thought we ran pretty well," Portland women's head coach Ian Solof said. "(Vincent) had a spectacular race. Getting 16th at this meet means we're one of the top 40 teams in the country, so we're pretty happy overall."
The only West Coast Conference team at the meet, Solof's squad placed ahead of West Region rival UC Santa Barbara, which finished in 22nd place. The Pilots also beat Vanderbilt, which received ten votes in the latest Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association poll.
Michigan won the White section of the meet, placing all five of its runners in the top 25. Colorado's Christine Bolf was the top individual finisher, recording a time of 20:13.
The women's `B' squad will run at the Beaver Classic on Oct. 22 before the teams prepare for the WCC Championships on Oct. 29.