LOUISVILLE, Ky. โ Amy-Eloise Neale went into her final NCAA Cross Country Championships looking forward to running on a new course, one where she could have a fresh start. She all but mastered the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park course today, making a huge move late to take runner-up honors in the best performance of her already stellar career. Neale became the third Husky ever to take second-place honors at the NCAA Championships.
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Neale's thrilling finish was the highlight of the day as both Husky men's and women's teams finished in the top-25 to end the season. The women placed 21st overall and the men finished 22nd, led by the career-best 66th-place finish from senior Andrew Gardner. The team titles went to the New Mexico women and the Northern Arizona men.
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Last season, Neale won the Pac-12 and West Regional titles and was eighth at NCAAs. This season, she settled for third-place at the conference and region championships, but delivered today when it mattered most.
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Through the first 4k of the 6,000-meter race, Neale held fairly steady in around 20th-place. She was officially 19th at the 4k split, then ran the final kilometer in 3:06 to pass seventeen of the best runners in the country. When Neale came out of the trees and into view of the finish line, she had shot up to third, and would soon pass San Francisco's Charlotte Taylor, who had won West Regionals last weekend. The only woman Neale wouldn't catch was New Mexico's Ednah Kurgat, who won in 19-minutes, 19-seconds. Neale was second in 19:27, a second and a half ahead of Taylor.
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"Obviously I'm extremely happy with today," Neale said. "As much as I really believed I could be up there, when it actually happens it's still a bit of a surprise. I'm really happy with the day and happy that I'm here with my team."
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A year ago in Terre Haute, Neale also had a strong late move to get up into the top-10, but she had been running in the 30-40 range until that point, so keeping closer to the front was part of her plan today. Neale also found the Louisville course to her liking.
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"When we were running through the course I kind of decided that I really liked the last 2k," she said. "The goal was with a mile to go I'd be in the top-10, and I was a little off of that, so I just really tried to get moving over the last 2k of the course and just pick off as many people as I could. I knew I was prepared in terms of the kick so I just really tried to kick a little sooner than I thought I could. It's interesting here, because you can't see the finish, so I think a lot of people maybe leave it a little too late, so I really tried to focus on making a move while I could.
Neale joins Regina Joyce as the only Huskies ever with two top-10 finishes at the national championships. One of Joyce's top-10s came prior to the NCAA sponsoring women's sports, at the 1980 AIAW Championships, and Neale is also now the only Husky with consecutive top-10 finishes, as Joyce finished sixth at AIAWs in 1980, then 11th at the first NCAA meet in 1981, and second in 1982. The other Husky runner-up finish came from Kendra Schaaf in 2009.
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This is also the third year in a row with a Husky in the women's top-10, with Neale eighth last year and Maddie Meyers also finishing eighth in 2015.
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Senior Izzi Batt-Doyle ran through an injury today to be the second Husky across the finish line in a time of 20:57 for 130th-place. Senior Anna Maxwell was seven seconds back in 148th-place, and junior Emily Hamlin was fourth for UW in 155th-place in 21:07. Rounding out the scoring five was freshman Allie Schadler who was 209th in 21:42. Kiera Marshall in 223rd-place and Nikki Zielinski in 234th-place completed Washington's lineup.
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This was the 11th consecutive top-25 finish for the women's squad.
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The men's team was led by Gardner's career-best finish in 30:23 over the 10,000-meters. The Dawgs had their scoring five in close contact for much of the race, but were unable to make an impact up front in the same manner as West Regionals last week.
ย Colby Gilbert was the second Husky through in 106th in a time of 30:47, as he closed well over the last kilometer. Sophomore Andy Snyder capped his breakthrough season with a solid 118th-place run in 30:53. Junior Mahmoud Moussa and freshman Talon Hull then finished side by side in 143rd and 144th-places, respectively, in 31:04 and 31:05. Freshman Tibebu Proctor crossed in 31:18 for 172nd-place in his NCAA debut and redshirt freshman Gavin Parpart was 245th overall.
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Andrew Gardner pushing to the finish in 66th-place to lead the men.
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This was the third top-25 finish for the Husky men's squad in the past four seasons.
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Next up for the distance crew will be a stint in the Dempsey, as the indoor track season gets rolling this coming January.
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ย NCAA Cross Country Championships November 18, 2017 Louisville, Ky. โ E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park
ย Women's 6,000-meters Team Results (Top-20 of 31): 1. New Mexico 90; 2. San Francisco 105; 3. Colorado 139; 4. Stanford 165; 5. Oregon 203; 6. Boise State 264; 7. Furman 271; 8. North Carolina State 280; 9. Michigan 295; 10. Wisconsin 318; 11. BYU 342; 12. Villanova 346; 13. Arkansas 377; 14. Utah State 395; 15. Michigan State 395; 16. Providence 400; 17. Georgia 411; 18. Penn State 443; 19. Minnesota 488; 20. Iowa State 508; 21. Washington 513. Individual Champion: Ednah Kurgat, New Mexico, 19:19.5 Husky Finishers (255 finishers): 2. Amy-Eloise Neale 19:27; 130. Izzi Batt-Doyle 20:57; 148. Anna Maxwell 21:04; 155. Emily Hamlin 21:07; 209. Allie Schadler 21:42; 223. Kiera Marshall 21:51; 234. Nikki Zielinski 22:08.
ย Men's 10,000-meters Team Results: (Top-20 of 31): 1. Northern Arizona 74; 2. Portland 127; 3. BYU 165; 4. Stanford 221; 5. Arkansas 259; 6. Oregon 274; 7. Iowa State 279; 8. Colorado 294; 9. Colorado State 318; 10. Michigan 328; 11. Southern Utah 334; 12. Iona 373; 13. Syracuse 406; 14. Alabama 420; 15. Air Force 429; 16. Virginia 436; 17. North Carolina State 455; 18. Ole Miss 465; 19. Boise State 175; 20. Virginia Tech 481; 22. Washington 488. Individual Champion: Justyn Knight, Syracuse, 29:00.1 Husky Finishers (250 finishers): 66. Andrew Gardner 30:23; 106. Colby Gilbert 30:47; 118. Andy Snyder 30:53; 143. Mahmoud Moussa 31:04; 144. Talon Hull 31:05; 172. Tibebu Proctor 31:18; 245. Gavin Parpart 33:16.
ย Best individual finishes at NCAA Cross Country in Washington history 2nd โ Amy-Eloise Neale, 2017
2nd โ Kendra Schaaf, 2009
2nd โ Regina Joyce, 1982
7th โ Katie Flood, 2011
7th โ Christine Babcock, 2008 8th โ Amy-Eloise Neale, 2016
8th โ Maddie Meyers, 2015
8th โ Tara Carlson, 1995
