Marquette University Athletics
Women's Cross Country Earns Bid to NCAA Championship Meet
11/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
The Marquette women?s cross country team, ranked 28th in the latest coaches poll, received an invitation to the 2003 NCAA Cross Country Championships. This is the fourth year in a row that Marquette has earned a trip to the national meet and has finished as high as 15th in 2001.
?By my count, there are only eleven other teams who have qualified for the championship meet the last four years,? head coach Dave Uhrich said. ?That shows our program has developed a great tradition and hopefully that will continue.?
The team finished 18th last season. The highest individual finisher over that run was Brianna Dahm who placed 51st at the 2001 NCAA Championships. Dahm and fellow seniors Audrey Schiltz and Jamie Haro bring experience to the Golden Eagles.
?It definitely helps to have three seniors who have been a part of this for the last four years,? Uhrich said. ?Especially since the rest of our team is so young.?
Sophomore Jodi Jakubek has been a key part to this year?s team leading the team in six meets this season. Conference USA Freshman of the Year Heidi Lindeman has been in Marquette?s top three all season long and finished first overall in her first meet of the season, the Bradley Invite.
?They have been so consistent all year. I know they will go there and be nice and relaxed and run a great race,? Uhrich said of his younger runners.
The NCAA Championship meet will take place in Waterloo, Iowa where the University of Northern Iowa will act as host. The women?s 6,000m race will begin at 12:15 p.m. at the Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course. Marquette competed at the Pre-NCAA Meet on Oct. 18 and will compete Monday on the same course.
The Marquette women?s team won its fourth straight Conference USA title on Nov. 1. At the meet, freshman Heidi Lindeman earned C-USA Freshman of the Year honors and Uhrich was tabbed C-USA Coach of the Year.
For continuing information regarding the 2003 NCAA Championships please follow this link: http://www.unipanthers.com/athletics/pages/mcc/ncaa/index.asp.
