2008 Woodie Awards
Cross country puts up solid season finale
By Alexis Burton
Rocket Staff Writer
Issue date: 11/11/05 Section: Sports
The Slippery Rock University cross country teams finished out the season with high standings at the regional meet held at Lock Haven University on Saturday, Nov. 5.
The men finished fourth, 140 points behind Edinboro's 59 points, Lock Haven's 69 points, and Shippensburg's 90 points. The women finished eighth.
"The whole team has really stepped up this season," junior runner Holly Whoolery said. "At first the girls had a rough time but as the season went on they really improved."
This was Whoolery's second meet of the season due to an injury, but she finished 16th; narrowly missing the all regional title which she earned last year.
"I wanted to do better but I really was pleased with my finish," Whoolery said. "I just felt like I had more to show for the season than I was able to."
Katie Bork was the top finisher again this week for the women. Her 13th place finish and time of 22:30, earned her a regional title. Kristen Jordan was 55th at 23:46, followed by 60th place Raissa Weiss with a 23:54 time. Ashley Paul was fifth for SRU with a 24:20 time and 75th place. Edinboro won the women's team title with 33 points. The Rock received 219 points.
The men's team fell just shy of advancing to the national finals, posting a fourth place finish. Regional champion Jeff Weiss added another win to his streak. Weiss will be attending the NCAA Division II national finals held in Pomona, Cal. on November 19.
Coach John Papa said he hopes that Weiss will be able to pull out another high ranking performance in spite of the heavy competition.
"Jeff really impressed us all," Papa said. "This was his first race at 10,000 and even though we knew he would do well we really weren't sure how well. I feel that due to the unfamiliar course, Jeff ran a cautious race or he most likely would have beat second place runner John Somers of Shippensburg by a lot more."
SRU has hosted the nationals twice before, most recently in 2001. Weiss leaves next Thursday, along with Coach Papa for California.
Teammate Matt Bluman added to the men's standings with an 8th place finish, followed by Chris Geddis, 32nd, Greg Byrnes, 35th and Jacob Moore, 64th.
"I am very proud of all the runners," Papa said. "They all worked very hard all season and improved tremendously. We don't lose very many runners this season, therefore I am really looking forward to see how well we do next year as well."
The cross country runners will have a few weeks off until indoor track season starts in the beginning of December.
The men finished fourth, 140 points behind Edinboro's 59 points, Lock Haven's 69 points, and Shippensburg's 90 points. The women finished eighth.
"The whole team has really stepped up this season," junior runner Holly Whoolery said. "At first the girls had a rough time but as the season went on they really improved."
This was Whoolery's second meet of the season due to an injury, but she finished 16th; narrowly missing the all regional title which she earned last year.
"I wanted to do better but I really was pleased with my finish," Whoolery said. "I just felt like I had more to show for the season than I was able to."
Katie Bork was the top finisher again this week for the women. Her 13th place finish and time of 22:30, earned her a regional title. Kristen Jordan was 55th at 23:46, followed by 60th place Raissa Weiss with a 23:54 time. Ashley Paul was fifth for SRU with a 24:20 time and 75th place. Edinboro won the women's team title with 33 points. The Rock received 219 points.
The men's team fell just shy of advancing to the national finals, posting a fourth place finish. Regional champion Jeff Weiss added another win to his streak. Weiss will be attending the NCAA Division II national finals held in Pomona, Cal. on November 19.
Coach John Papa said he hopes that Weiss will be able to pull out another high ranking performance in spite of the heavy competition.
"Jeff really impressed us all," Papa said. "This was his first race at 10,000 and even though we knew he would do well we really weren't sure how well. I feel that due to the unfamiliar course, Jeff ran a cautious race or he most likely would have beat second place runner John Somers of Shippensburg by a lot more."
SRU has hosted the nationals twice before, most recently in 2001. Weiss leaves next Thursday, along with Coach Papa for California.
Teammate Matt Bluman added to the men's standings with an 8th place finish, followed by Chris Geddis, 32nd, Greg Byrnes, 35th and Jacob Moore, 64th.
"I am very proud of all the runners," Papa said. "They all worked very hard all season and improved tremendously. We don't lose very many runners this season, therefore I am really looking forward to see how well we do next year as well."
The cross country runners will have a few weeks off until indoor track season starts in the beginning of December.
