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Nov. 12, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men's and women's cross country teams head to Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships, hosted by Indiana University at the IU Cross Country Course. The women's race is a 6K contest, while the men are set to compete in their first 10K race of the season. The regional format automatically advances the top two teams from each region to the national championship race and the NCAA Championships Committee then selects 13 at-large teams from across the country, based on regular-season results. In addition, the NCAA awards four individual automatic qualifiers from each region and a pair of at-large individual qualifiers nationally. The four automatic spots are given to the top four runners not on a national qualifying team with the individuals being required to finish in the overall top-25 at the regional championship. The Purdue women head into the weekend ranked eighth in the Great Lakes Region, coming off their ninth-place showing at the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago in State College, Pa. Freshman Camille Buscomb has led the way all season for the Old Gold and Black, and hopes to become the first Boilermaker to advance to the NCAA Championship race since Lindsay Zinn accomplished the feat in 2005. Zinn earned an automatic individual qualifier, finishing 11th overall at the regional race in Bloomington, Ind., with a time of 21:32.3. Zinn is one of three Purdue women to ever advance to the NCAA Championships, along with 2004 qualifier Amber Ferner and 1982 qualifier Becky Cotta. Buscomb's 17th-place showing at the conference championships was the highest individual effort since Zinn captured 12th at the 2005 Big Ten race, while her 6K time of 21:17.0 is the sixth fastest in school history, and the second-fastest by a Boilermaker at the conference championships since the race moved to 6K in 2003. Buscomb crossed the line in 22:00.72 in Bloomington at the Sam Bell Invitational on Oct. 17, and continued improvement could give her a legitimate shot at NCAA Championship qualification.
While Buscomb takes her first shot at a trip to nationals, senior Kristin Phillips is set for her final shot at an NCAA qualifier after an impressive career on the cross country trails. She finished 35th at the conference championship meet, missing her 6K career best by just three seconds, and looks to improve upon that mark and make the step up to the national scene this weekend. Others looking to take the step to the next level with Buscomb and Phillips are senior Sarah Klaczynski, sophomores Stephanie Bonk, Katie Conrad and Kara Conflenti, and freshman Kelly McCurdy. All five have posted personal records during the 2009 season, and hope to continue improving on Saturday. On the men's side, the Boilermakers have battled some bad luck with illness and injury, but still have their eyes on their first national qualifier since 1987, when Bob Stolz earned a bit to compete at the University of Virginia. Every race to this point for the Purdue men has been at 8K, but Saturday's race marks their first 10K of the season, and for some of the freshmen, their first 10K of their careers. With no seniors on the Purdue roster, junior Caden Shields holds the veteran tag and looks to lead the way for his youthful teammates. Shields has been the Boilermakers' top finisher in all four of his varsity competitions this season, and turned in the squad's top time at last year's 10K regional championship. Sophomores Cale Allen and Ladd Mercer offer the only other 10K experience on the Purdue roster as Allen was the team's No. 2 finisher a year ago, while Mercer was sixth across the line for the Boilermakers. Classmate Charles White will toss his hat in the ring this weekend, competing in his first 10K for the Old Gold and Black, while freshmen Stephen Schulz, Robert Stewart and Corey Scott all head out on their maiden collegiate 10K experience. The men's 10K is scheduled for noon, while the women's 6K will follow at 1:15 p.m. For more information on Saturday's competition visit the official race site. A full recap and results will be available at PurdueSports.com after the completion of Saturday's action.
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