Freshman Dazzles in NCAA Debut
Terre Haute, IN - Freshman Christo Landry (Falls Church, VA) ran a spectacular race to earn All-America honors in his rookie season as 2004 CAA Champion William and Mary men\'s cross country competed this afternoon at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. It was the eighth-straight Championship that No. 27 William and Mary has contested as only 31 teams qualified for the elite field. Held on the 10,000m LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, IN, Colorado claimed a narrow victory over Wisconsin for the team title in a two-team race, tallying 90 points to the Badgers\' 94, while Arkansas took third with 202 points. Wisconsin\'s Simon Bairu won the individual title in 30:37.7.For the second-straight season the Tribe suffered hardship at the NCAA Championship, and this season it was even worse than the loss of three-time All-American Ed Moran to injury as occurred in 2003. Four Tribe harriers, half of the maximum eight allowed on the NCAA roster, succumbed to food poisoning before the meet, including 2004 CAA Champion Matt Keally (Virginia Beach, VA) and sophomore Keith Bechtol (Alexandria, VA), each of whom have run in the No. 1 spot for the Tribe this year and could not start the race. Senior Pat Comstock (Portsmouth, VA) and freshman Ian Fitzgerald (Glenshaw, PA) were also afflicted but started the race in a determined showing. However, neither could overcome their illness, and both could not complete 10,000m, although Fitzgerald was running well (in 130th) before dropping from the race. With only four finishers, the Tribe did not qualify for a team score (five runners must finish for eligibility) and received no official placing among the 31 teams present. Had the College been able to put one more runner across the line, even in last place, the team would have tallied near 529 points, good enough 25th place, and had both Bechtol and Keally been able to run, W&M was in line for a top-10 or top-15 finish.
Landry capped a phenomenal month of racing by earning All-America honors (awarded to the top-30 American finishers in the race) in his NCAA Championship debut. He clocked a 31:49.1 for a strong 38th place, punctuating a stretch which saw him take second in his first CAA Championship (for all-conference honors) and seventh at his first NCAA Southeast Regional (for all-region honors). He is the 10th Tribe harrier to earn an All-America honor in cross country, and is the first freshman to do so since Ron Martin in 1970. Also turning in a solid performance was sophomore Adam Tenerowicz (Blackstone, MA) who claimed 93rd in his first NCAA Championship with a 32:30.5. Senior Jeff Hedley (Virginia Beach, VA) also ran well, finishing in 11th at 32:42.1. Junior Jason Schoener (Grand Blanc, MI) took 188th as the final Tribe finisher.
The NCAA Championship concludes the season for W&M cross country.
Team Scoring Place Team Score 1. Colorado 90 2. Wisconsin 94 3. Arkansas 202 4. Butler 243 5. BYU 267 Not Classified William and Mary No Score Top 5 Individuals: Place Individual Team Time 1 Simon Bairu Wisconsin 30:37.7 2 Matt Gonzales New Mexico 30:40.9 3 Josphat Boit Arkansas 30:41.8 4 Brent Vaughn Colorado 30:48.7 5 Bret Schoolmeester Colorado 30:56.3 W&M Individuals 38 Christo Landry^ W&M 31:49.1 93 Adam Tenerowicz W&M 32:30.5 111 Jeff Hedley W&M 32:42.1 188 Jason Schoener W&M 33:29.2 ^ All-American