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Cross-country men, Schilling advance to NCAA national championship
RELEASED: Nov. 17, 2005
DANVILLE, KY—For the second consecutive year, the Centre College men's cross- country team has won the 2005 South/Southeast Regional Cross Country Championship, held Saturday, Nov. 12, in Conway, Ark.
Two-time All-American Eileen Schilling, a junior from Louisville, placed fourth in the women's regional to earn her third straight trip to nationals. Schilling's time of 22:27 is her best ever at six kilometers.
Schilling, the second overall individual qualifier, earned All-America honors in the past two national meets, placing 33rd and 35th.
By winning the men's meet, the Colonels qualify for the their second straight NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship. Centre finished with 41 total points, placing its top five runners in the top 15. Rhodes College was second out of 18 teams with 63 team points.
"This is the first time that any of our running teams has won a regional title," says Centre coach Lisa Owens. "We were well aware early on that only the first-place team in our region would qualify for nationals this fall. Our guys wanted to be that team and they started their training in June to achieve this goal in November. We're looking to better our 24th-place finish from last year's national competition. Last fall was the first time in school history that any of our running teams have qualified for the national competition as a team. The top two teams out of our region qualified last year and we were second. Emory University had won our region every year that I've coached here (nine years). It was nice to finally overtake the top spot."
Adds assistant coach Jeremy Smith: "It's been a true honor and blessing to help coach such an amazing group of men, who also happen to be very gifted, hard-working, runners. I'm humbled to be part of their success.”
Eric Hack, a junior from Louisville, paced the Colonels, placing third overall out of 132 competitors with a time of 25:34. Sophomore Nate Blank (Frakes, Ky.) finished sixth overall with a time of 25:39. Junior Anthony Lippert (Harrodsburg, Ky.) followed behind in seventh at 25:41. Sophomore John Thompson (Owensboro, Ky.) and senior Jeff Briggs (Strongsville, Ohio) rounded out the top five for the Colonels. Thompson ran the 8k race in 25:46 to place
11th, while Briggs was 14th with a time of 26:00.
The Centre men's team and Schilling will travel to Delaware, Ohio, on Saturday, Nov. 19, for the NCAA Cross Country Championship.
The women's team, competing in its regional event without the injured Annelise Askins, finished eighth. Following Schilling, senior Lauren Arnold (Lexington, Ky.) was 15th overall with a time of 23:20. Senior Kristie Kachler (Ewing, Ky.), placed 41st with a time of 24:24. Junior Natalie Armstrong (Leawood, Kansas) was 69th with a time of 25:36 and sophomore Jessica Droste (Louisville, Ky.) came in 73rd crossing the finish line in 25:43..
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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/
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