2008 Woodie Awards
Cross country places 21st at Pre-NCAAs
Erika Hadley
Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: Sports
This weekend the Miami University men's cross country team competed at the NCAA Pre-Nationals and had what its runners described as a "breakthrough" race.
The large field of teams at the meet was divided into two separate races, with the Red and White placing 21st out of 38 teams in their race.
Junior Pat Sovacool figured that the team's overall standing at the meet was around 42nd place when all of the results were pooled together.
"Competition was really strong," Sovacool said. "Coach said we had 74 out of the top 77 teams in the country at that meet. Placing 42nd out of those 77 teams puts us in the top 50 in the country as a team, and that's pretty good."
Individually, Sovacool was the top finisher for Miami in 31st place. Senior Michael Veatch and junior Brad Untrauer finished in 110th and 115th, respectively.
Freshman Michael Perry finished in 133th place, and sophomore Kevin Silver came in 15th.
Sovacool, who has established himself as the front runner for the RedHawks this season, has received Mid-American Conference men's cross country Runner of the Week accolades twice, was also very pleased with his performance at Saturday's meet.
"Last year we went there and I ran over a minute slower and still ran my best race ever, so this was really a breakthrough race for me and I was pretty stoked about it," Sovacool said. "It wasn't easy-it hurt a lot, but it was totally worth it coming down to the finish line and seeing the clock and knowing how fast I was running. It was awesome."
Head Coach Warren Mandrell has enjoyed seeing his runners develop from the high school level to the collegiate level.
"Pat was leading this group of about three or four guys who were state champions in high school, and Pat's never even been to a state meet," Mandrell said. "That just shows his development, that he is running among these All-Americans now."
Veatch, who came in second for the 'Hawks, was excited about his individual time, but cited the highly competitive field as a source of some frustration.
The large field of teams at the meet was divided into two separate races, with the Red and White placing 21st out of 38 teams in their race.
Junior Pat Sovacool figured that the team's overall standing at the meet was around 42nd place when all of the results were pooled together.
"Competition was really strong," Sovacool said. "Coach said we had 74 out of the top 77 teams in the country at that meet. Placing 42nd out of those 77 teams puts us in the top 50 in the country as a team, and that's pretty good."
Individually, Sovacool was the top finisher for Miami in 31st place. Senior Michael Veatch and junior Brad Untrauer finished in 110th and 115th, respectively.
Freshman Michael Perry finished in 133th place, and sophomore Kevin Silver came in 15th.
Sovacool, who has established himself as the front runner for the RedHawks this season, has received Mid-American Conference men's cross country Runner of the Week accolades twice, was also very pleased with his performance at Saturday's meet.
"Last year we went there and I ran over a minute slower and still ran my best race ever, so this was really a breakthrough race for me and I was pretty stoked about it," Sovacool said. "It wasn't easy-it hurt a lot, but it was totally worth it coming down to the finish line and seeing the clock and knowing how fast I was running. It was awesome."
Head Coach Warren Mandrell has enjoyed seeing his runners develop from the high school level to the collegiate level.
"Pat was leading this group of about three or four guys who were state champions in high school, and Pat's never even been to a state meet," Mandrell said. "That just shows his development, that he is running among these All-Americans now."
Veatch, who came in second for the 'Hawks, was excited about his individual time, but cited the highly competitive field as a source of some frustration.
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