LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Facing a big and challenging field full of elite teams, the Cowboys placed 28
th while the Cowgirls took 42
nd at the 2017 Pre-National Invitational at E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday. Sophomore
Christopher Henry paced the Cowboys with an 84
th-place effort, while senior
Kerry White led the Cowgirls in 152
nd place.
Henry checked in at 24 minutes, 22.2 seconds to finish in the top third of the field of nearly 300 runners in the men's seeded 8-kilometer race. It was Henry's third consecutive race-leading effort to start the 2017 season. Fellow sophomore
Daniel Hintz was just a second behind Henry, taking 87
th overall at 24:23.2.
"The race went out pretty fast, but the guys did a great job putting themselves in position early and then worked well together during the middle part of the race," UW assistant coach
Scott Dahlberg said Saturday. "Every guy ran a personal best for the 8K. Even though cross country courses can differ from year to year, that was good for them to execute a faster pace. We have more in us, but it was no doubt a step in the right direction as we head into a smaller yet quality field at conference."
Sophomore
Harry Ewing followed a solid Roy Griak Invitational with a 119
th-place finish in Louisville, clocking 24:37.9 on Saturday. Junior
Michael Downey was next for Wyoming, taking 182
nd with a time of 25:09.8. Freshman
Jerald Taylor rounded out the Cowboys' top five, crossing the finish line in 25:54 for 257
th place.
The Cowgirls struggled in the women's seeded 6-kilometer race. White's time of 21:42.8 placed her just outside the top half of the field as she led Wyoming for the second time this season.
"I was disappointed with today's results," said UW associate head coach
Amanda Clower. "We didn't put ourselves in a good position to compete from the start. We have two weeks until the conference championships and I have some big expectations for improvement. We have a lot more to give."
The remainder of Wyoming's top five finished close together as about 20 seconds separated the Pokes' second and fifth finishers. Junior
Emily Person took 222
nd as the Cowgirls' No. 2 runner, clocking in at 22:23.9, while fellow junior
Regan VanDePol was 227
th at 22:25.5. Sophomore
Kacey Doner and senior
Quinn DeStefano rounded out the Cowgirls' top five, clocking in at 22:32.5 and 22:43.2, respectively. Senior
Lauren Hamilton was held out of the race for precautionary reasons.
Wyoming will face off against conference foes at the 2017 Mountain West Cross Country Championships on Oct. 27, hosted by the University of New Mexico at the UNM North Golf Course. Stay tuned to GoWyo.com and
@wyo_track on twitter for more information as the conference championships approach.
