Cross Country Prepares for Conference Championships
10/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 28, 2010
HOUSTON - The University of Houston cross country team will head to the Conference USA Championships this Monday with the same goal amongst new scenery.
The Cougars will travel to Tulsa, Okla., for its northern most race of the season as Tulsa will play host to the league championships for the first time in C-USA history.
"Our team is excited about the conference championships," Turner said. "This is the meet that we've been training for all season. They all feel like they still have unfinished business since last year (the men) were only six points away from fourth. Our women had back-to-back top-five finishes and especially after losing our top runner from last year, they want to show that we're still a top-five team without that individual. So I know that there is still unfinished business in respect to what we were not able to finish off with last year."
What they did finish with last year, however, was impressive for a team consisting entirely of freshmen and sophomores. Four of the women running in Monday's championships placed in the top 35 a year ago, including junior Starla Garcia who paced the 5K course in 19:27.70 for a team-high 25th place. Sophomore Kathryn Ducommun finished 31st (19:45.80) as a freshman, and after leading the Cougars in more than half of their races in 2010, is a strong candidate to lead the team at conference.
Ducommun is not the only one willing and able to lead the Cougars, as the team has shown off its depth for much of the season. Juniors Brandi Witte and Megan Munoz each turned in team-leading performances this year, placing fifth (at LSU) and 18th (at Disney), respectively.
"With the women, we had an All-Conference athlete for us last year who isn't back this year, so it's time that someone else steps up and does that for us," Turner said. "We had several girls that were really close last year who will have that opportunity this year."
In contrast, the men's side has a fairly clear choice in the leadership department. Since his freshman season, junior Nate Pineda has been the Cougars' top finisher in all but one race. On Oct. 9, sophomore David Smith edged his teammate by a single second at the Disney Cross Country Classic for the first time in his career. As returning All-Conference team members from last season, the two are constantly pushing each other, and their team, to improve.
"The goal is to come back and have more guys on that All-Conference list," Turner said. "As long as we keep improving and can get more guys into that top 21, that's exciting for us. The goals for our athletes, especially for those two kids, is to go out, compete, try and get conference honors, and lead our teams to what we hope is a top-five finish for the women and a top-three finish for the men."
In last year's C-USA Championships, Pineda finished 19th with a time of 26:02 while Smith checked in just eight seconds later to claim 21st place. A year later, Turner also has a core of juniors at his disposal who have yielded impressive results. At the LSU Tiger Cross Country Festival, Anthony Jordan, Andres Santaolalla and Stephan Keller joined Pineda and Smith in the top 15 to claim the Cougars' second-straight victory in Baton Rouge, La.
"You basically train all year for it to culminate at this one race," Turner said. "Compared to other sports, this is what we call our postseason. We have the conference meet and then the NCAA Regionals. It's a very exciting time. After everything we've done all year, you hope that you can put it together for this one race."
To attain the goals they have set for themselves, UH will have to power through a tough C-USA lineup. All 12 league members field a women's team, while eight of them will also have a men's team competing on Monday. On the men's side, UTEP will look to continue its foreboding streak of four conference championships in the last five years. The SMU women will be gunning for their third-consecutive title.
Between the men's and women's squads, the Cougars will take on eight regionally-ranked teams, including the Tulsa women who show up at No. 23 on the national USTFCCCA poll.
"Our conference is extremely difficult," Turner said. "On the women's side SMU, UTEP and Rice all have really strong programs. Tulsa does, as well. Every school in our conference is trying to do the same thing. We're all trying to be successful. There's not one school out there saying `Hey go ahead and come beat us.' All of us want to win; it's just a tough conference. There will possibly be girls who won't make First-Team All-Conference who will have a shot at going to Nationals."
The championships will be held at the Indian Springs Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. The women's 5K is set for 9 a.m. while the men's 8K event is slated for 10 a.m.
Players Mentioned
