Monteau Qualifies for NCAA Championships
11/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 12, 2005
WACO, Texas - Ashley Monteau finished fourth overall in the NCAA South Central Regional Cross Country Championships Saturday, earning her second consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships. Monteau's effort led her team to a fifth-place finish, the best in school history at the regional meet. The SFA men's team also finished fifth, led by Cody Clark, who barely missed qualifying for nationals.
Monteau, a junior, completed the 6,000-meter course at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in 21:02, earning all-region honors for the second time in as many years. She will compete at the NCAA Championships in Terra Haute, Ind., on Monday, Nov. 21. Last year, Monteau was 11th at the regional meet and finished 75th at nationals.
"It's a great accomplishment," SFA cross country coach Lou Snelling said of Monteau's repeat performance. "She's the only runner out of our conference to qualify for nationals the past two seasons. To be fourth in this region with all the competition -- that's very impressive."
The next Ladyjack across the line was sophomore Katrina Nicholas. She was 34th overall with a time of 22:46. Freshman Heather Adams finished 39th with a time of 22:52, sophomore Kirsten Wieseman was 48th with a time of 23:18, and junior LaKoa McKeever's time of 23:32 was good enough for 55th place. Junior Kimbri Lettkeman (23:37) was 58th, and sophomore Amber Bagwell (24:08) finished 74th.
"That is a very good day for our women's team," Snelling said. "It was a great job by everybody. For Katrina and Heather to finish in the 30s -- for a true freshman and a redshirt sophomore, that's pretty impressive. We had Kirsten step up for us, and LaKoa and Kimbri right there for five and six."
In the men's 10,000-meter race, Clark finished 16th with a time of 31:55. The junior from Merit, Texas was a mere 13 seconds away from qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Clark, who won the individual title at the Southland Conference Championships last month, was the first SLC runner across the line and earned the first all-region honor of his career.
"That's a great season for Cody and a great step for him to make this year," Snelling said.
Clark's teammate, Chance Edwards, cracked the Top 30 with a time of 32:41, good enough for 28th place overall. Freshman Teddy Fanta finished 38th with a time of 33:01, junior Rodney Joseph (33:40) was 51st, freshman Aaron Hohn (33:47) finished 55th, and freshman Keith Mahipala (35:36) was 89th.
"The men had a solid day," Snelling said. "It was another solid race for us. Fifth in this region is great. We finished in front of some good teams."
-- SFA --
