The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Cross Country preview: NCAA Championship
11.16.2007 | XC: Men_Old, Track & Field / Cross Country
When: Monday, Nov. 19, 2007
Race Time: 11:08 a.m. Central
Course Distance: 10,000-meters
Venue: LaVern Gibson Championship Course, Wabash Valley Family Sports Center (Terre Haute, Ind.)
Ticket Information
General adult and student admission is $5. Children under the age of two are free. Gates open at 8 a.m. CT for the start of the men's 10K race at 11:08 CT followed by the women's 6K at 11:58 CT.
LONGHORNS UPDATE
Texas Aims To Continue Top-10 Streak at NCAA Championships
The No. 16 Longhorns look to extend their streak of top-10 finishes on Monday at the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championship. The men take the line for the 10,000-meter race at 11:08 a.m. CT at LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind.
NCAA Selection Process
Thirty-one teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were selected at-large. Each eligible team must advance from the NCAA region championships. Individuals are selected at-large. The top four runners from each region who do not qualify with a team plus two additional selections are chosen to participate in the NCAA championship meet.
2006 NCAA Championships Recap
Texas placed seventh scoring 246 points at the Lavern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 20. Three runners finished in the top 45 point scorers including All-American Joe Thorne. Then-sophomore Leo Manzano (Marble Falls, Texas) was the second fastest UT runner narrowly missing All-American honors and contributing 33 points towards the team finish.
UT has finished seventh two consecutive seasons marking the first time since 1991 a Horns' team has accomplished that feat. Two of UT's six top-10 finishes have come under current associate head coach Jason Vigilante.
NCAA South Central Region Championship Recap
The Longhorns earned one of 18 automatic berths at the NCAA South Central Region Championship in Fayetteville, Ark. Runner-up Texas scored 52 points behind all five scorers finishing in the top 22. UT placed six runners on the All-NCAA South Central Region team by virtue of finishing in the top 25. UT earned its fourth consecutive berth in the national meet with its top-two finish.
Five Scorers Finish All-Region For Second Year In A Row
Six Texas student-athletes were named to the 2007 NCAA All-South Central Region team. It marked the second consecutive season that all five Longhorns' scorers made the region squad as UT led the 2007 teams with the most selections. Junior Leo Manzano and senior Jake Morse (Arlington, Texas) led the team with three career region selections each. Senior Erik Stanley (Spring, Texas), junior Kyle Miller (Katy, Texas) and graduate student Owen Washburn (Amherst, Mass.) garnered regional honors for the second time in their careers. Senior Darren Brown (Spring, Texas) was a first-time selection.
2007 Big 12 Championship Recap
Four Longhorn harriers garnered all-conference honors as the team finished third at the Big 12 Championship in Lubbock, Texas on Oct. 28, 2007. Stanley, Miller, Manzano and graduate Washburn finished amongst the top 15 garnering All-Big 12 honors. Morse rounded out Texas' scorers by coming in 22nd. Four additional Longhorns competed in Lubbock, including redshirt freshman Habben Berhane (Dallas, Texas) and true freshmen Jay Heller (Marietta, Ga.), and Robert Wetzel (Crofton, Md.).
2006 NCAA South Central Region Championship
Texas entered the NCAA South Central Region Championship ranked No. 21, looking to earn a third-consecutive automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The Longhorns secured their place in Terre Haute with their third straight, second-place finish behind Arkansas. All seven Texas runners finished in the top third of the field, and all of Texas' scorers finished in the top 15.
Indiana Course Selected For Championship Site
Indiana State University and the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center will host its fourth consecutive NCAA Cross Country Championship and fifth overall NCAA meet. The place bodes well for the Big 12 teams as a conference team (Colorado) has won a national championship on the course twice in four attempts.
McNew Stands As Texas Cross Country Champion
Walter McNew became Texas' first cross country national champion in 1956, just two years after the Horns' program started competing on the national level. McNew's winning time of 19:55.7 on the four-mile course led the Longhorns to a third-place finish, their highest ever at the NCAA Championships.
Three All-Americans Highlight 1986 Season
The 1986 season was a banner year for the cross country program as three runners were named All-Americans, the most ever for Texas in one year. At the NCAA Championships in Tucson, Ariz., Joseph Chelelgo came in sixth, Patrick Sang came in eighth, and Harry Scott Green came in 12th, helping the team to secure a ninth-place finish, their best in 30 years.
Texas' Top Four Finish Stands as One of the Best on Record
In 1990, Texas had its second-best finish ever at an NCAA Cross Country Championships, coming in fourth at the finals in Knoxville, Tenn. All-American Steve Sisson, who is currently a coach with the women's track and field team, led all UT harriers with a time of 29:56 and a 19th-place finish.
Dawson Leads Horns in Three Straight Seasons
Ben Dawson is the only Longhorn to lead Texas for three consecutive seasons. Dawson was the top finisher at the NCAA Championships from 2000-2002. Eight harriers have led UT in back-to-back years, the most recent being All-American Joe Thorne in 2005 and 2006.
Record-Setting 2006 Season
In 2006, Texas set a school record for the most consecutive years with a cross country All-American. Four consecutive campaigns have seen a Longhorn earn All-America honors, with Paul Morrison accomplishing the feat in 2003, Andrew Middleton in 2004, and Joe Thorne in both 2005 and 2006.
Third Time is The Charm
The most All-American honors won by a Longhorn harrier is three, accomplished by Harry Scott Green from 1986-1988. In 1986, Green came in 12th at the NCAA Championships with a time of 31:15, followed by a 3rd place finish (29:21.16) in 1987 and a seventh-place finish (29:38) in 1988.
