|
Idaho
senior Tania Vander Muelen.
|
Colorado
State's Rebekah Yetzer.
|
Butler's
Maria Beitel.
|
Idaho's
Alisha Murdoch.
|
Columbia
sophomore Laura Meyers.
|
|
SMU's
Rachel Barber.
|
TV
commentators Tony Reavis and Olympian Carrie Tollefson.
|
Kim
Smith increased her lead by about six seconds in the second half...
|
...which
was enough to earn her her first NCAA cross country title.
|
Smith
finished the muddy 6K course in 20:08.5. This race marked the end
of her collegiate career.
|
|
Smith
already has three NCAA track titles from last year.
|
She
announced shortly after the race that she would be running the Manchester
Road Race...
|
...three
days later. She also won in Manchester, in her professional debut.
|
Renee
Metivier, a senior at the University of Colorado, finished second
in 20:26.4.
|
Metivier
led off a strong showing for the University of Colorado, a team
that was considered to have an outside shot at the team title.
|
|
Metivier
also finished second in this meet in 2001 while running for Georgia
Tech.
|
Columbia's
Caroline Bierbaum was enough of a surprise in third place (20:30.7)...
|
...that
the announcer called her Carol Henry throughout the race and as
she crossed the finish line.
|
Each
of the top three runners began their NCAA career elsewhere - Smith
at McNeese State, Metivier at Georgia Tech, and Bierbaum at Duke.
|
Laura
Turner of BYU (fourth, 20:37.5) held off Maureen McCandless of Pittsburgh
(fifth, 20:38.2).
|
