Category | Sports

Cross Country season ends at South Regional

Published on November 17, 2009 by Justin Hobday

The cross country season ended over the weekend when the men’s team finished eighth at the NCAA South Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

KSU finished ahead of every other Atlantic Sun Conference team, and ahead of every other school from the state of Georgia, minus the University of Georgia. Also, all seven members of the team finished in the top 100 of the 173 runner field.

“It would’ve been great to go to nationals, but really, we accomplished some great things today,” head coach Stan Sims said. “I’m thrilled to finish in the top ten, and when you look at some of the teams we beat, there’s nothing but positives to take out of today.”

Freshman Nabil Hamid led the Owls finishing the 10K event with a time of 31:17 and placing 26th.

“I was pushed by all of the top runners in the field. Every time I saw someone from a school in Georgia, I wanted to make sure I passed them,” said Hamid. “Running against competition like this definitely helps. I’m able to find out how much I can really get out of a race when I have to keep up with some of the best.”

Senior Scott Burley completed his career as an Owl placing 81st. Burley’s collegiate career came to an end because his athletic eligibility for indoor and outdoor track has been exhausted. Fellow senior Michael Johnson also completed his cross country career in Tuscaloosa finishing in 83rd place.

“Michael really gave it his all today, and had a great race. Scott did an excellent job, as well, and since this was his last event at the collegiate level, I know he wanted to go out on a good note, and he certainly did,” Sims said.

Mackenzie Howe and Britany Reilly represented the black and gold in the women’s event.

Howe finished the 6K event in 18th place with a time of 20:58. To qualify for nationals, a runner has to be one of the top four runners to finish who is not a member of one of the top two placing teams. Howe finished ninth in this category, only 25 seconds late of a chance to run in the national championship meet.

“It’s disappointing to have not made it to nationals, but I gave it a great effort,” Howe said.  “I was thrilled to have been able to run against this competition. I knew it would start off fast, so I tried to put myself toward the front of the pack and keep up with the pace being set. The course was pretty fast, and in great condition and getting to run against these teams definitely helped my time.”

Howe finished behind only one other Atlantic Sun Conference runner, and finished in fourth among runners from Georgia schools. Reilly finished the race in 69th place with a time of 22:19.

“Mackenzie and Britany, you never have to worry about their preparation for a race,” Sims said. “I let them know at the beginning of the season what was expected of them, and they’ve gone and done it at the highest level. This was a great test for them to compete against some of the best runners in the region, and they performed admirably.”

Both teams set school records as Division I members as the men’s team finished the season with a .869 winning percentage, and the women’s team finished with a final winning percentage of .895.