Nov. 15, 1999

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Texas Tech men and women were in cross country action Saturday at the NCAA Regional Championships, hosted by Colorado State University in Fort Collins. The women finished 8th with a score of 212 points while the men were 10th with a score of 269.

Brigham Young University won the women's race with a score of 20 while Southern Utah took the honors for men with a score of 57.

The top four teams in each race earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, as well as the top two individual finishers not on a qualifying team. Leigh Daniel came away with a seventh place finish in a time of 17:08.16, which will earn her a ticket to the national race. As a team, the women may still qualify if awarded an at-large berth by the selection committee.

Kristen Koppes was the women's next best finisher, placing 16th with a time of 17:34.85. Rounding out the scoring for the women were Evette Turner (34th, 18:21.64), Courtney Nolen (69th, 19:22.12) and Shannon Spaulding (88th, 19:49.90).

The men's team received solid performances from their top four runners to come away with the 10th place finish in the 10,000-meter race. Boniface Ndunge finished 40th out of 108 runners in a time of 32:21.52. He was followed by David Leigh in 45th place (32:37.43) and Ryan Cruz in 50th (32:49.53). Jesse Williams was right behind the pack in 55th place (33:01.99) and Samson Ngetich rounded out the Tech top five with a 79th place finish in a time of 33:54.86.

Like the women, the men still may have a chance at nationals if they are awarded an at-large berth.

TTU