Cross country finishes seventh in challenging South Central region
Sean Owens
Issue date: 11/10/09 Section: Sports
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UNO placed four runners in the top 60 out of 143, defeating three of the South Central region's top 10 teams in the meet. Previously-ranked regional foes Central Missouri (9), Angelo State (8) and Midwestern State (6) all finished behind UNO in the meet.
"There are some really good teams in this region," said head coach Steve Smith. "These are some talented nationally ranked teams that we compete with."
The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association's Missouri Southern State, ranking No. 3 in the nation in Division II cross country, took first place in the race with six of its runners finishing in the top 10.
The Mavericks sent six runners to the meet, consisting of three freshmen, two juniors and one sophomore.
"I thought they ran really, really well," Smith said. "We had some girls that had some of their best times of the season. We really competed today."
Leading the way for the Mavericks were freshmen Megan Oddo and Brittany Phillips, who once again put up a strong fight for UNO as the pair finished with times of 23:12.87 (6:13.6 average per mile) and 23:57.11 (6:25.5 average per mile) respectively. Oddo led all Mavericks in the race finishing in 32nd out 143 runners, while Phillips finished at 60th.
Junior college transfer Dina Luka saved her best outing for last as she recorded a personal-best time of 23:24.56 (6:16.8 average per mile) in the 6k race (approximately 3.8 miles) and finished in 40th place.
Freshman Nicole Behm and junior Lisa Tesarek rounded out the field for the Mavericks with times of 24:36.49 and 26:00.69.
Depicting the workhorse mentality of the Maverick team was sophomore Kelly Esch.
Esch, who did not arrive until 3 a.m. on Saturday due to academic testing on Friday and transportation issues, still managed to put forth a stellar effort in front of her coaches and teammates. She finished the race with a personal-best time of 23:31.14 (6:18.5 average per mile). The sleepless Esch was UNO's third-best runner and finished in 47th place.
The collaboration of multiple personal record times amongst the Maverick runners could be enough to put UNO back on the regional map and give the competition something to think about next year. UNO's season was one that was led by youth and determination. The determination of UNO's runners proved they could compete with some of the best Division II cross country teams in the region as well as the nation.
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