Tulsa Men 1st, Women 2nd at NCAA Cross-Country Midwest Regional

Friday, November 15

Stillwater, Okla.

10:30 AM

Tulsa

NCAA Midwest Regionals

Tulsa cross-country teams finish 1st and 2nd at NCAA Regional

Tulsa Men 1st, Women 2nd at NCAA Cross-Country Midwest Regional

11/15/2019 3:30:00 PM | Cross Country

STILLWATER, Okla. –– The Tulsa men's and women's cross-country teams turned in their best regional performances in school history on Friday morning at the OSU Cross Country Course. Tulsa won the men's Midwest regional title for the first time in school history, while the women's second-place performance marks the first-ever top-3 regional finish for the Golden Hurricane.

The two teams advance to next Saturday's NCAA Championships (Nov. 23) at the Lavern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Tulsa's previous best regional finish for the men was second place three times (2013, 2014 and 2016), while the Hurricane women's previous best was 4^th place also three times (2010, 2014 and 2015) as well. Last season the men finished 3^rd in the regional meet and the women placed 8^th overall.

"I'm so proud of our teams. Both teams came into this event determined and focused to place among the top-2 and advance to the NCAA championship, and they accomplished that goal," said Tulsa head coach Steve Gulley.

The men, ranked 2^nd in the region and 7^th nationally coming into this year's event, finished ahead of the region's No. 1-ranked and nation's 5^th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones by a score of 37 to 54. Tulsa had 5 runners finish among the top-11 in the regional field of 197 runners, led by junior Patrick Dever in 3^rd place with a 10K time of 30:46.8.

Fellow junior Peter Lynch clocked a 6^th place time of 30:56.4, while sophomore Isaac Akers and senior Cameron Field finished 8^th and 9^th, respectively. Akers had a time of 31:03.6 and Field was clocked at 31:05.3. Junior Scott Beattie finished in 11^th place to give Tulsa their 37 points with a time of 31:09.6.

Also for Tulsa, Reed Sahadevan finished in 47^th place in a time of 32:00.9m, while Adam Breux placed 113^th with a time of 33:09.2.

"The guys ran a great race. Their job was to qualify for the NCAA's, but they had to stay focused and get the job done. Sometimes that's a lot easier than you think," added Gulley. "The teams started out slow and under control because it was such a difficult course that the teams were trying feel out the pace to make sure they could go the full 10,000 meters."

The top-5 team finishers for the men included Tulsa (37), Iowa State (54), Kansas (150), South Dakota State (166) and host Oklahoma State (179).

The Tulsa women began the day finishing just 15 points behind the nation's 22^nd-ranked the Illinois Fighting Illini (108-123). The Hurricane came into today's meet ranked regionally behind Illinois, Oklahoma State and Minnesota, but finished ahead of 3^rd-place Minnesota and 4^th-place Oklahoma State to grab the second of two automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.

"The women surprised everyone. We placed 8^th last year and to get in the top 2 this year was fantastic," said Gulley. "I don't think any other teams were counting on that performance. I give them a lot of credit. I haven't seen a team in all my years as focused as these young ladies were for the last 30 days."

Junior Caitlin Klopfer led the way for Tulsa as the top-5 Hurricane runners finished among the top-32 in a field of 235 participants. Klopfer finished with a 5^th place performance, clocking a 6K time of 20:37.4. Sophomore Carolina Miller timed out at 21:17.2 to finish in 23^rd place, while junior Jenny O'Bryan also placed among the top-30 with a 29^th place time of 21:25.9.

Finishing out the scoring for the Tulsa women were seniors Regan Hausmann and Ashley Barnes in 32^nd and 34^th place, respectively. Hausmann clocked a time of 21:28.9 and Barnes finished in 21:31.8.

In addition, sophomore Alice Newcombe finished in 57^th place (22:01.8) and freshman Katharina Pesendorfer placed 81^st overall with a time of 22:18.8.

Next week, the Hurricane men will be making the school's 10^th national championship appearance, all coming within the last 12 years, including the last eight seasons. Tulsa's best national finish was 7^th place in the 2012 campaign.

The Tulsa women will be making their third trip to the NCAA Championships as the previous two appearances for the women came in 2009 and 2015.

Men's Midwest Region Team Results
(1) Tulsa, (2) Iowa State, (3) Kansas, (4) South Dakota State, (5) Oklahoma State, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, (10) Missouri, Bradley, Kansas State, Wichita State, Drake (15) Loyola (Ill.), Eastern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Illinois State, North Dakota State, (20) South Dakota, Southern Illinois, Saint Louis, DePaul, Kansas City (25) Illinois-Chicago, Creighton, SE Missouri

Tulsa Men's Results – 10K NCAA Midwest Regional
3.         Patrick Dever 30:46.8
6.         Peter Lynch 30:56.4
8.         Isaac Akers 31:03.6
9.         Cameron Field 31:05.3
11. Scott Beattie 31:09.6
47. Reed Sahadevan 32:00.9
113. Adam Breaux 33:09.2

Women's Midwest Region Team Results
(1) Illinois, (2) Tulsa, (3) Minnesota, (4) Oklahoma State, (5) Missouri, Iowa State, Loyola (Ill.), Wichita State, Northern Illinois, (10) Iowa, North Dakota State, Bradley, Northwestern, South Dakota (15) Nebraska, South Dakota Sate, Kansas, Eastern Illinois, North Dakota (20) Missouri State, Saint Louis, Illinois Sate, Kansas State, Nebraska-Omaha (25) Northern Iowa, Creighton, SW Missouri, DePaul, Southern Illinois (30) Drake, Illinois-Chicago, Oklahoma, Western Illinois

Tulsa Women's Results – 6K NCAA Midwest Regional
5. Caitlin Klopfer 20:37.4
23.      Caroline Miller 21:17.2
29.      Jenny O'Bryan 21:25.9
32.      Reagan Hausmann 21:28.9
34.      Ashley Barnes 21:31.8
57.      Alice Newcombe                    22:01.8
81.      Katharina Pesendorfer 22:18.8