Taryn Surtees Wins Invidual Title at 2008 UAA Championships

MEN'S RESULTS | WOMEN'S RESULTS

Conyers, Ga., November 1, 2008 – The No. 18 Washington University women’s cross country team picked up a second-place finish, while the Bears’ men’s team place seventh, at the 2008 University Athletic Association Championships, held at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, Ga., on Saturday morning. Sophomore Taryn Surtees led the WU women’s team to the runner-up finish by taking the 2008 individual title.

In a pack of the conference’s top runners with about one mile remaining in the race, Surtees made a strong final push to pick up the overall win, submitting a time of 21:37.22 on the 6k course, and beating second-place Britta Kumley of Case Western Reserve University by 15.55 seconds.

In just two seasons on the Danforth Campus, Surtees has consistently made a strong impression at the UAA Championships. Following an eighth-place finish during her freshman season, she earned UAA Rookie of the Year honors. She is the fifth WU women’s runner in the past six seasons to win the conference championship meet, and the seventh student-athlete to do so in school history.

Case Western Reserve prevented Washington U. from repeating as the conference champion, finishing the race with 38 points, compared to 42 for the Bears. A pair of freshmen, Elizabeth Phillips and Erica Jackey, were the next to cross the finish line for the Red and Green. Phillips came in ninth place with a time of 22:20.35 and Jackey finished in 10th, crossing the finish line 6.14 seconds after Phillips. Both first-year runners earned second-team All-UAA honors.

Also garnering second-team all-UAA recognition was senior Angela Hartman, who grabbed 12th place with a time of 22:33.82. She finished inside a pack of eight runners that all completed the race within 15-seconds of one another, and made a strong push over the last 400 meters to grab the 12th spot. Junior Hope Rathnam was the fifth runner to score for Washington U., coming in 20th with a time of 22:50.97.

All five of the Washington University men’s runners to scored finished within 12 spots of one another. Senior Nick Silverman was the first to complete the 8K course for the Red and Green, posting a time of 26:58.36, which was good for 33rd place overall. Next to finish for the Bears was freshman Tucker Hartley and junior Alex Bearden, who submitted times of 27:00.26 and 27:03.91, and finish back-to-back at 36th and 37th place.

Also scoring for the WU men’s team was sophomore Dave Spandorfer, who came in 39th place with a time of 27:06.95, and junior Matt Kruger, who’s time of 27:22.24, was good for 45th place.

Both the Washington University men’s and women’s cross country teams will return to action in two weeks, when they compete in the 2008 NCAA Midwest Region Championships, held Saturday, Nov. 15, in Rock Island, Ill. The WU women will take aim at their fourth-consecutive NCAA Midwest Region title. The first race is scheduled for 11 a.m.