Cowgirl Harriers Make History and Place Third at the MWC Championships

Jennifer Thompson earns All-Conference and Randy Cole earns MWC Coach of the Year.

Senior Jennifer Thompson ran 22:25 in the 6k race to earn All-Conference honors.
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Oct. 30, 2004

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

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The University of Wyoming Cross Country team made history at the Mountain West Championships Saturday with a third-place finish. This team finish marks the best outcome in UW history. The Cowboys competed hard to a sixth-place mark against a very tough field.

Senior Jennifer Thompson once again proved to be one of the top runners in the conference with a seventh place overall finish. With her finish Thompson earned All-Conference honors and posted a time of 22:25 on a soggy 6000 meter course. The rest of the team would finish strong as three other Cowgirls finished in the top-25. Gladys Jerotich would be the next Wyoming runner to cross the tape, coming in 20th-place and a time of 23:23. Senior Natalie Kean (23:24) finished right after Jerotich in 21st and freshmen Gretchen Fagley (23:28) would place 25th. Wyoming head coach Randy Cole was named 2004 MWC Coach of the Year.

"I was very happy with the way we charged late in the race," said UW head cross country Randy Cole. "The girls started off slow, but showed a lot of heart towards the end to secure the third-place finish. We can enjoy this now and hope to carry it over to the regional meet in two weeks."

The MWC is loaded with four men's teams all ranking in the top-23 nationally. The Cowboys competed to a sixth place finish and were led by junior Brian Knight. Knight ran to a 25th-place finish with a time of 26:30 on the 8000 meter course. He would be followed by junior Ragan Driver in 41st-place and a time of 27:41.

"This is a very tough conference," said Cole. "The men just have to keep plugging away and use this meet as a learning experience."

When asking coach Cole about his award he would humbly say, "what the girls did here today is more important."

The UW cross country teams will come back to Laramie and train for two more weeks before they stay close to home and compete at the regional meet in Fort Collins, Colo. on Sat., November 13.