LOUISVILLE, Ky.- Running in their largest meet of the season, the women’s cross country team had a good showing at the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday, placing 34th in the 5k race at E.P Tom Sawyer State Park. Mackenzie Howe led the way with a 15th place finish.

“There was a lot of speed out on that field today but the race itself was very big,” Owls head coach Stan Sims said. “Since there were so many women in the race, it was hard for our runners to not get boxed in. This wasn’t necessarily our best race, but everyone ran hard, and we will continue to get stronger and faster each week.”
 
Howe, a senior, continues to run well as the heart of the Owls squad. Finishing in 15th place, she stuck with the pack and finished with a time of 17:30. Despite not having her best time, Howe knows there is a lot she can take from the experience.

“This definitely wasn’t the race that I was hoping for,” said Howe, a three time All-Atlantic Sun Conference honoree. “Because of the size of the race and type of competition, I expected a better time. I will just have to use this as a learning experience and work hard in preparation for the next race.”

Running with four freshmen, the Owls continue to improve as the season progresses. Freshman Heather Morris was the second to cross the line for the Owls at 18:51, while fellow newcomer Alison Wald was next at 19:45. Freshmen Haley Carson and Brittany Robinson rounded out the squad for the Owls. Even though the competition was steep, Carson was happy for the chance to run against top teams.

“I didn’t run the time I would have liked, but overall, I did a pretty good job for being in my first season,” Carson said. “The race itself was huge and super fast. It was an experience racing against all of those top schools.”




Team Standings

  1 Grand Valley State Univ. - 106  points

  2 Vanderbilt University  -   107 points

  3 Univ. of Georgia  - 198 points

   4 Shippensburg Univ. - 208  points

   5 Western KY University - 225 points

   6 Univ. of Missouri - 243 points

   7 Illinois State Univ. - 267 points

   8 Eastern Kentucky Univ.- 290 points

   9 University of Kentucky -  307 points

  10 Ferris State Univ. - 354 points

  11 Mississippi State Univ.  -  362 points

  12 East Carolina Univ. - 384 points

  13 Univ. of Louisville   - 392 points

  14 UNC-Greensboro - 430 points

  15 Univ. at Albany  -  461 points

  16 Edinboro Univ. -   497 points

  17 U.So.Carolina -Upstate  -  514 points

  18 Washington Univ.-St.Louis -  540 points

  19 Univ. of Southern Indiana  - 548 points

  20 Ole Miss  -  571 points

  21 Elon Univ.  -   590 points

  22 Southern Illinois Univers -  607 points

  23 Queens Univ. of Charlotte -  614 points

  24 Univ.of TN-Chattanooga  -    623 points

  25 Georgia Tech  -  641 points

  26 Colorado School of Mines  -  660 points

  27 Davidson College  -  661 points

  28 Middle TN State Univers -  681 points

  29 Arkansas State Univ. -    682 points

  30 Univ. of Miami (Fl.) - 752  points

  31 Lewis Univ. -  755 points

  32 Columbus State Univ.  -   801 points

  33 Bellarmine University  -   807 points

  34 Kennesaw State Univ. -  811 points

  35 Northern Kentucky Univ. -  884  points




Individual Standings

15. Mackenzie Howe (17:30)

148. Heather Morris (18:51)

239. Alison Wald (19:45)

283. Haley Carson (20:38)

302.Brittany Robinson (23:26)