SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Junior Tonya Nero was an all-region performer and came in 15th place overall while junior Marius Sava led the men's squad in 34th place as the Wichita State University men's and women's cross country teams wrapped up the 2009 season at the NCAA Regional meet on Saturday, Nov. 14.
The WSU women placed sixth overall out of 22 schools with 200 points. The men were 16th overall out of 25 schools with 469 points.
"I'm extremely proud of both teams and the way they competed today," WSU head coach Marc Burns said. "The men bounced back from a tough conference meet to really build momentum heading into the track season and next fall while the women put themselves in a good position for a possible at-large bid for the national meet."
Hassan Mead, a junior from Minnesota, was the men's individual winner as he ran a time of 30:21 on the 10K course. Oklahoma State was the top men's team while Minnesota claimed the women's team crown. Angela Bizzarri, a senior on the Illinois cross country team, was the top female finisher (20:07).
Nero completed the 6K course in a time of 21:15, seven seconds shy of her personal best. Junior Leah Thompson just missing the cutoff for all-region consideration by two seconds. Her time of 21:36 put her in 26th place out of 173 competitors.
Seniors Irene Kosgei, Rachel York, and Olivia Martinez ended their WSU cross country careers on a high note as the trio rounded out the top-five for the Shockers at the meet. Kosgei clocked in at 21:56 to place 41st with York crossing the line in a time of 22:23, good enough for 62nd overall. Martinez was the 72nd runner across in a time of 22:39.
"Leah just missed out on an all-region nod but ran a great race. Tonya was outstanding again and Irene had another solid day. Our four-five girls started a little far back of the pack to begin with but made up ground quickly and passed a bunch of people down the home stretch to put us in sixth place."
Sava led the men's team to a solid showing at the meet with sophomore Trace Kendrick placing 60th overall (32:47) out of the 174 runners. Scott Ufford came in 112th place (34:17) while Jake Stecklein (138th, 35:14) and Josh Richardson (150th, 35:34) were the final runners to score for WSU.
"The men really responded and stayed focused throughout the race. It is probably the most excited I've been to finish 16th, but where the guys started from to where we are now really shows that they didn't pack it in or give up. Marius and Trace were great again and the three-four-five runners had outstanding races. To finish ahead of Bradley and Drake, who placed fifth and sixth in the conference championships, is a real testament to the way the guys ran today."
