Kendyll Ferrall
Kferral1@uwyo.edu
Competing as a full squad for the first time since late September, the University of Wyoming men’s and women’s cross country teams fell short of expectations at the Louisville Pre-Nationals Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky last weekend.
Out of a field of 45 schools, the Cowgirls finished in 38th place for the 6,000 meter with 852 points and the Cowboys finished in 34th place for the 8,000 meter with 804 points.
Although the team scores were not ideal for the final meet before the Mountain West Championships at the end of October, two individual runners set school records.
“This is our last meet before the conference championships so it will give us a really good idea of where we are right now,” head coach Bryan Berryhill said in a press release, shortly before the invitational began. “I really like where both teams have been training the past three weeks since we’ve last raced. I’m excited to find out where we are so we can make a few changes going into the conference championship.”
Despite battling a foot injury she suffered at the first meet of the season, sophomore Kerry White ran the third fastest time in Cowgirl history for the 6,000 meter, clocking in at 20:49. White finished in 54th place out of 311 runners.
Junior Megan Brunette ran the second-fastest time for the Cowgirls, crossing the finish line 19 seconds after White to take 99th place.
Following up her 12th place finish at the Rocky Mountain Shootout in Boulder, Colorado earlier this month, sophomore Lauren Hamilton took 16 seconds off of her 6,000-meter time to finish in 219th place with a time of 21:51.
“The race was really about seeing which one of our young kids could step up for the team,” assistant coach Amanda Clower said. “The Cowgirls did an awesome job of working together as a group.”
Senior Aaron Derner paced the Cowboys, running the 10th-fastest 8,000-meter time in Wyoming’s history with a 24:24. Derner took the 119th spot out of a field of 288 runners. Coming in 16 seconds behind Derner, sophomore Jonah Henry finished in 155th place, beating out senior Amos Bowen by one second. Bowen came in 159th place.
Senior Dylan Morin crossed the finish line on the heels of Bowen, coming in two seconds behind to finish in 168th place.
Wyoming’s low finish was due in part to illness affecting two runners. The Cowgirls’ top runner at this season’s first two meets, senior Audrey DeStefano, was diagnosed with mononucleosis. Senior Mike Seas, a top-eight finisher at the beginning of the season, was also diagnosed with mononucleosis.
According to U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s latest poll, the Cowboys are currently ranked 10th in the Mountain West, slipping one position after the Pre-National Invitational and the Cowgirls are also ranked 10th, falling two spots after last weekend’s meet.
Wyoming will compete at the Mountain West Championships next weekend in Reno, Nevada.
