Where does UK XC stand after Pre-Nats?
This weekend Kentucky's Cross Country teams competed in their biggest meet so far this season, the Pre-National meet in Terre Haute Indiana . Every year "Pre-Nats" is held on one of the last weekends of the regular season on the National Championship course, drawing many of the best teams from across the country as they take advantage of the chance to preview the course where it will all be decided less than a month later. The performances by both Kentucky teams last Saturday gives us a much better idea of what the Cats can reasonably hope to achieve this postseason.
[caption id="attachment_143474" align="alignnone" width="300"]
h/t gosycamores.com[/caption]
On the men's side, Kentucky finished 35th out of 52 teams with Seniors Matt Hillenbrand (70th) and Adam Kahleifeh (104th) leading the way. Although it's unlikely that UK's men will be able to do much on the team side this postseason, if Hillenbrand and Kahleifeh continue to improve as they have from race to race this year, it's not impossible for one or both to finish well at the SEC championships and possibly fight for All Region Honors at the Regional meet later in November.
The women's team cashed in on another outstanding performance by Senior Cally Macumber to finish 15th in the 49 team field. Macumber finished just two seconds out of first, finishing 3rd against runners from many of the top teams in the Nation. Fellow seniors Allison Peare and Anna Bostrom backed up Macumber with top 100 finishes of 66th and 94th. In her last three races Macumber has finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively. She has consistently shown that she can run with anyone in the nation. Look for Macumber to contend for the individual title at both the SEC and Regional meets. Although she won't be the favorite to win the individual National Title come November 23rd, if she continues to improve and things go her way I would never rule out the possibility of Macumber ending her senior Cross Country season in the best way possible.
[caption id="attachment_143475" align="alignnone" width="150"]
h/t ukathletics.com[/caption]
For the women's team, Pre-Nats confirmed Kentucky's status as a "bubble team" in terms of qualifying for Nationals. They finished ahead of Villanova (ranked 12th nationally) and Oklahoma State (ranked 18th), however they also finished behind three unranked teams, Ole Miss, Penn St, and Toledo. To qualify for Nationals a team must either place in the top two in their Regional meet, or be one of 13 teams selected "at-large." An at-large spot based on their current body of work, while still a possibility, is most likely a long shot. They can greatly improve their resume at the SEC meet if they can somehow beat Vanderbilt (ranked 22nd), Florida, and Texas A&M (both receiving votes). However, if all of Kentucky's top five runners have good races, a top two finish at the Regional meet is very attainable.
Both teams will return to action November 1st at the SEC Championship race in Florida.
Follow me on twitter if you like to be amused @BenduranceKSR
h/t gosycamores.com[/caption]
On the men's side, Kentucky finished 35th out of 52 teams with Seniors Matt Hillenbrand (70th) and Adam Kahleifeh (104th) leading the way. Although it's unlikely that UK's men will be able to do much on the team side this postseason, if Hillenbrand and Kahleifeh continue to improve as they have from race to race this year, it's not impossible for one or both to finish well at the SEC championships and possibly fight for All Region Honors at the Regional meet later in November.
The women's team cashed in on another outstanding performance by Senior Cally Macumber to finish 15th in the 49 team field. Macumber finished just two seconds out of first, finishing 3rd against runners from many of the top teams in the Nation. Fellow seniors Allison Peare and Anna Bostrom backed up Macumber with top 100 finishes of 66th and 94th. In her last three races Macumber has finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively. She has consistently shown that she can run with anyone in the nation. Look for Macumber to contend for the individual title at both the SEC and Regional meets. Although she won't be the favorite to win the individual National Title come November 23rd, if she continues to improve and things go her way I would never rule out the possibility of Macumber ending her senior Cross Country season in the best way possible.
[caption id="attachment_143475" align="alignnone" width="150"] h/t ukathletics.com[/caption]
For the women's team, Pre-Nats confirmed Kentucky's status as a "bubble team" in terms of qualifying for Nationals. They finished ahead of Villanova (ranked 12th nationally) and Oklahoma State (ranked 18th), however they also finished behind three unranked teams, Ole Miss, Penn St, and Toledo. To qualify for Nationals a team must either place in the top two in their Regional meet, or be one of 13 teams selected "at-large." An at-large spot based on their current body of work, while still a possibility, is most likely a long shot. They can greatly improve their resume at the SEC meet if they can somehow beat Vanderbilt (ranked 22nd), Florida, and Texas A&M (both receiving votes). However, if all of Kentucky's top five runners have good races, a top two finish at the Regional meet is very attainable.
Both teams will return to action November 1st at the SEC Championship race in Florida.
Follow me on twitter if you like to be amused @BenduranceKSR
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