By Andrew Krumme
The Louisville Cardinal Cross Country team began their 2005-2006 campaign last Friday afternoon with success at the Woodford Trials, hosted by UK.
The men’s team dominated the field, outrunning its Wildcat challengers for a 47-16 win in the dual meet. The Cards held out in dual matches against Eastern Kentucky for a 31-26 score, and Marshall in a 50-15 trampling.
Sophomore Wesley Korir’s 15:24 flight across the five-kilometer course for a second-place finish gave the Louisville men the edge that easily secured their win. Top overall finishers also included freshman Cory Thorne in fourth place, junior Wes Seacat in sixth, senior Tim Kaiser in eighth and junior Chris Danks in 11th.
U of L’s women also made a notable showing over Marshall to capture a third-place finish at the trials. Junior Ashley Ruberg sealed a 12th-place finish with her two-mile time of 12:30, with junior Meredith Edwards and freshman Nicole Hayworth landing in the 21st- and 22nd-place spots, respectively.
“Our team captains showed some great leadership and that really made a difference for us,” said U of L Head Coach Ron Mann.
Mann, who is beginning his second season as the Cards’ head coach, also noted his team’s cohesion. “We were able to run as a pack and that ultimately prevailed,” he said. “We’re starting to come together as a team and I feel very good about that.”
This season, Mann welcomes back some key components along with a couple fresh faces. “We’re building the team from the ground up. We want to be diligent about building this program and newcomers Thorne, Ryan Byrne and Hayworth are going to help us do that.”
Along with the freshmen, Mann has the luxury of welcoming back some solid runners on both the men’s and women’s side. Ruberg returns after a good sophomore campaign, including finishing as the Cards’ top female runner in five of six races. Junior Holly Geers and senior Lauren Baldwin will be counted on by Mann to churn out good seasons.
Korir was Conference USA Freshman of the Year last year en route to taking home the top spot in four separate races. “[Korir] is setting the bar for the program and we are going to build around him,” Mann said.
Another runner to figure into the mix is Kaiser who earned all conference honors last year with an 11th-place finish at the C-USA Championships.
Korir’s potential, not to mention some quality returners, is something that could vault the Cards into the national spotlight. While the Cardinals are not quite there yet, they will have their chance to prove themselves in a couple big meets throughout the season. “We are really looking forward to the Pre-Nationals and the Notre Dame Invitational, which will give us out first chance to see some of the other Big East teams,” Mann said.
