The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Tiger Twilight Invitational
Blazers Take Top Five Spots At Tiger Twilight Invitational
10/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 12, 2007
SEWANEE, Tenn. ----- The UAB cross country team captured the top five spots, set two personal bests, established a new course record, and won the team title at the Tiger Twilight Invitational hosted by the University of the South on Friday.
The Blazers finished with 15 points, the lowest a team can earn, on their way to the second-team title of the season. Head coach Ray Stanfield called the 6,000-meter race a chance for the Blazers to build confidence after the team's last race.
"It was just what we needed," Stanfield said. "We needed a positive race to get back on track. It was the best weather we've had and it just showed our fitness."
Whitney Mays took the individual title crossing the finish line in a time of 21:42.38, which set a new course record for a 6,000-meter race. The first-place finish was the first for Mays in her career and also established a new personal record for the distance.
Stephanie Gammon continued to build on her young career finishing second in her first 6,000-meter race with a time of 22:33.52. Kristina Olsen finished the race third with a time of 22:52.88, which also set a new personal record. Lacey Wright (4) finished the course in 23:06.29, while Elizabeth Hilligoss (5) crossed the finish line in a time of 23:43.47.
The meet was small with four teams bringing 29 runners to race. Georgia College and State University took second with 43 points and the University of the South was third 67 points. Emory University also competed but did finish enough runners to qualify for a team finish.
Originally scheduled to compete in the Pre-National meet this week, head coach Ray Stanfield decided earlier this week to compete at the Tiger Twilight to help build his team's confidence before heading into the Conference USA Championship in two weeks.
"With this being a shorter trip and on a Friday, it allows us to not interrupt our training as much as the originally scheduled meet," Stanfield said.
The Blazers ran without top runner Elizabeth Ambrus, who may miss the rest of the season with an illness. Although not officially done for the year, Stanfield said her absence will definitely be felt.
"It hurts the team when you lose the top runner," he said. "What's worse than that is Elizabeth will miss the chance at competing for the Conference USA Championship and running at the regional meet. She'll be revaluated Tuesday before conference."
The Blazers are schedule to have next weekend off before competing at the C-USA Championship hosted by UTEP in El Paso, Texas on Oct. 27.
