TicketsOct. 30, 2010
JAMESVILLE, N.Y. - The University of Cincinnati men's cross country teams finished seventh, while the UC women placed ninth at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships hosted by Syracuse University on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Jamesville Beach County Park.
The UC men's team finished with a 188-point total, earning them their highest finish in program history at the BIG EAST Championship meet, bettering the squad's eighth-place showing of a year ago.
Junior Eric Finan (New Richmond, Ohio/New Richmond) was in ninth place for most of the race before finding another gear and placing seventh overall in the men's division. Finan finished the eight-kilometer race with a time of 25:22.2 and a 5:07-mile pace.
"Eric beat last year's second-placer, the BIG EAST 10K champion in track, and the national champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase," UC head coach Bill Schnier said. "That's some big league people. He really ran quite a nice race."
Sophomore Oliver Book (Borden, Ind./Providence) was the second Bearcat to finish, with a time of 26:24.2, good for 36th overall. Placing third for Cincinnati was David Barry (Vandalia,Ohio/Butler), who recorded a time of 26:33.8 and finished 43rd overall.
In the women's division senior Lilian Jelimo (Kapsabet, Kenya/Kapsabet Girls) paced UC with a 22:29.6-minute finish, which was good for 36th overall.
"Going into the race (the UC women) were ranked 11th and when we finished ninth, we really lived up to our expectations and more," Schnier said. "The people that ran today ran really hard and with passion, led by Lilian Jelimo."
Senior Michele McKenney (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) was the second Cincinnati runner to complete the six-kilometer run with a time of 22:40.4, earning a 45th-place finish. Coming in third for the Bearcats was junior Jill Glassmeyer (Cincinnati,Ohio/McAuley) finished 68th overall with a time 23:26.2-minute run.
This was the second consecutive ninth-place finish for the Cincinnati women at the BIG EAST Championship.
Overall the Villanova University women claimed their 13th BIG EAST cross country title with 26 points. In the men's division, host Syracuse won their second straight BIG EAST crown with a 59-point total.
The Bearcats' next race is at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 13 in Oakland, Mich.