Women's Cross Country Wins 2009 UAA Championship

MEN'S RESULTS | WOMEN'S RESULTS

Cleveland, Ohio, October 31, 2009 – The Washington University in St. Louis women’s cross country team won the 2009 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship on Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Squire Valleevue Farm in Cleveland, Ohio. Junior Taryn Surtees won the conference individual title for the second year in a row, and was tabbed as the UAA Most Valuable Athlete. The Washington U. men’s team finished fourth out of eight, and freshman David Hamm was named UAA Rookie of the Year.

Only four student-athletes in Washington University history have won the women’s individual championship, and each of them went on to take the conference crown in back-to-back seasons. Surtees continued that trend on Saturday, and became the first WU student-athlete to accomplish the feat since Beth Herndon in 2005 and 2006.

For the Washington University women’s squad, five runners placed in the top eight. Surtees led the way with a 22:42.09 finish in the 6k race, 30 seconds ahead of the second place finisher, Elaine Simpson from Case Western Reserve University. Senior Molly Schlamb, junior Sangeeta Hardy, and sophomore Liz Phillips finished in sixth through eighth place, respectively.

Schlamb paced the group at 23:48, Hardy was right behind at 23:49.04 and Phillips followed her at 23:55.72. Freshmen Bronwyn Bedrick and Brittany Cronin finished in 15th and 16th with times of 24:20.17 and 24:22.12, respectively. Sophomore Erica Jackey rounded out the top six for the Bears at 24:34, good for 23rd place.

Washington U. accumulated a team score of 37, besting second place and defending UAA Champion Case Western Reserve by 22 points. New York University came in third on the women’s side, with a team score of 73.

Junior Kwin Keuter led the Bears’ men’s team, finishing 12th in the 8k race. He crossed the line at 26:47 just two seconds ahead of teammate junior David Spandorfer, who finished 13th. Sophomore Matt Schwab turned in a time of 27:06, to take 18th place, while sophomore Malik Nabulsi rounded out the top-25 finishers for the Bears in 23rd place with a time of 27:13. Freshman David Hamm finished 26th, with a time of 27:18.5 on his way to being named UAA Rookie of the Year.

New York University won the 2009 UAA title with a team score of 41 points. Emory University and Carnegie Mellon University rounded out the top-three by tying for second place with 67 points apiece.

The Washington U. men’s and women’s cross country teams will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 14, when they race in the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships. The meet will be hosted by University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.