Three Tide Runners Set Personal Bests at Pre-National Meet
10/16/2010 12:00:00 AM
Oct. 16, 2010
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The University of Alabama women's cross country team had three runners set personal bests as the team finished tied for 35th out of 39 teams in an extremely stout field at the Pre-National Meet Saturday afternoon. The Crimson Tide raced against eight ranked teams and two top-10 teams in the Blue Division race which is designed to be a preview of next month's NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Leigh Gilmore continued her breakout season for the Tide with a 105th-place finish in the 261-runner field. Gilmore crossed the line first for the Tide with a personal-best time of 21:42.90 on the 6-kilometer course to eclipse her previous best by nearly 18 seconds. Junior Andrea Torske crossed next in 150th place with a 22:02.80 finish to continue her solid season and beat her personal best by more than 50 seconds.
"This was a solid performance but not an outstanding one for us," head coach Randy Hasenbank said. "We've got to perform better in all five spots to score better. However, Leigh (Gilmore) and Andrea (Torske) both ran well and turned in PRs while Elsbeth (Denton) ran a great race as well for her PR."
Elsbeth Denton's personal best came in a time 22:20.40 and a 170th-place finish in one of her strongest performances this season. Kelsey Johnson and Katlyn Will were the final two scorers for the Tide in 185th and 213th, respectively.
Johnson finished in 22:28.30 while Will crossed in 22:51.10 to ensure that the team's five scorers finished within 1:09 of each other. UTEP's Risper Kimaiyo took top individual honors with a time of 20:03.40 while No. 3 Florida State won the team scoring with 115 points.
The Pre-National Meet is the final race for UA before the championship portion of its schedule begins on Nov. 1 with the SEC Championships in Columbia, S.C.
Alabama Individual Results
105. Leigh Gilmore - 21:42.90
150. Andrea Torske - 22:02.80
170. Elsbeth Denton - 22:20.40
185. Kelsey Johnson - 22:28.30
213. Katlyn Will - 22:51.10
220. Dayle Van Ess - 22:55.20
247. Haley Moody - 23:42.20
