Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
NCAA Regional
Cross Country Places 25th In NCAA Regional Saturday
November 15, 2008 | Cross Country
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - - The Ball State cross country team ended its season with a 25th-place finish (656 points) at the 2008 NCAA Great Lakes Regional hosted by Purdue University on Saturday. The race marked the Cardinals' second competition on a 6,000-meter course this season.
Senior Vanessa Gilbert (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont H.S.), who led the Cardinals in every meet this season, paced BSU with a 75th-place finish and a time of 22:53.7.
Junior Sarah Kehe (Westville, Ind./Chesterton H.S.) placed second among the five runners for BSU, turning in a 101st-place finish in 23:16.2.
Also competing for the Cardinals were juniors Brittany Ade (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger H.S.), Lisa Arrowsmith (Lavonia, Mich./Stevenson H.S.), and Kelsey Nielsen (Bremen, Ind./Bremen H.S.).
Arrowsmith, Nielsen, and Ade finished 127th (23:41.2), 174th (24:39.9) and 179th (24:45.1), respectively.
The University of Michigan (72 points) and the University of Wisconsin (80) finished first and second, respectively, while earning automatic bids to the 2008 NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 24.
Qualifying for the NCAA Championships individually were Nicole Bush (Michigan State; 1st; 20:48.5), Wendi Robinson (Indiana; 4th; 21:03.9), Kari Summers (Ohio; 5th; 21:16.3), and Lisa Senakiewich (Michigan State; 6th; 21:21.0).
Individual Results
Vanessa Gilbert - 75th - 22:53.7
Sarah Kehe - 101st - 23:16.2
Lisa Arrowsmith - 127th - 23:41.2
Kelsey Nielsen - 174th - 24:39.9
Brittany Ade - 179th - 24:45.1
MEET PREVIEW
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State cross country team will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., Saturday to participate in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional hosted by Purdue. The women's 6K race, which is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., will boast a field of 336 runners and 34 total teams, including nine Mid-American Conference rivals and nine other Indiana schools.
To qualify for an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, which take place Nov. 24 in Terre Haute, Ind., the Cardinals would have to collectively place in the top two.
The top four individuals not a part of those two teams also earn a bid to the national meet.
Senior Vanessa Gilbert (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont H.S.), BSU's top returnee from last year's Great Lakes Regional, has led the Cardinals in every meet so far this season, including their only competition on a 6,000-meter course in which she clocked in a time of 22:41.8 at the 2008 Pre-Nationals Meet on Oct. 18.
Gilbert ran the 2007 Great Lakes Regional meet in 22:14, placing 45th overall and assisting BSU to a ninth-place finish.
Junior Sarah Kehe (Westville, Ind./Chesterton H.S.) was BSU's second-best competitor at the 2008 Pre-Nationals Meet with a time of 23:01.6. Kehe is also the Cardinals second-best returnee from last year's Great Lakes Regional where she recorded a time of 22:51.
Also participating for the Cardinals are juniors Brittany Ade (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger H.S.), Lisa Arrowsmith (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson H.S.) and Kelsey Nielsen (Bremen, Ind./Bremen H.S.).
Nielsen (22:52) and Arrowsmith (23:05) ran in the 2007 Great Lakes Regional, finishing 73rd and 89th, respectively. Ade raced to a 23:22.1 time at the Pre-Nationals Meet earlier this season.
