November 7, 2009
Men's Results | Women's Results
Liberty, MO-Led again by junior star Neil Grundman, the Yellowjacket cross country team headed into conference Saturday with high hopes. It was a great day for the GU harriers both as teams and as individuals. Head Coach Kent Allshouse and his men's and women's squads both finished sixth as teams, but the men qualified Neil Grundman (Croswell, MI) and Ahmed Khalif (Hamilton, ON) to nationals and the women qualified freshman sensation Jami Ruckman (Independence, MO).
Grundman shattered the course record at Stocksdale Park in Liberty, Missouri (home of the William Jewell Cardinals) by running the 8k in 26:48. Grundman, a returning all-american from 2008, finished last year in 28th place at nationals and should be primed for a big run at nationals in two weeks. Khalif finished individually in 4th place with a time of 28:14.44. As a freshman, this will be Ahmed's first nationals competition.
On the women's side, Jami Ruckman finished in sixth place, but, in one of the five spots in front of her was a Lindenwood runner and since they won the entire meet, Ruckman qualifies as one of the five individuals from conference outside of the winning team. Jami ran the 5k course in 21:08.74 and will also be making her first appearance at the national tournament. Also on the women's side sophomore Lindsey Triggs (Mount Ayr, IA) had her career best showing finishing in 13th place and making the all-conference team. Despite missing the cut to nationals, Triggs has a very bright future as a Yellowjacket cross country athlete.
"I have to admit that I was a little down going into this year's meet having had to remove a team member and had a top runner get injured the day before the meet, but the determination and effort displayed by both the men's and women's teams today has me beaming like a new father," stated an elated Coach Allshouse following the run. "Neil just continues to impress me and the way he dominated this race was amazing. Ahmed Khalif was inspiring today watching him literally give every ounce of energy he had and collapse just beyond the finish. Jami Ruckman and Lindsey Triggs were definitely our bright spots on the women"s team. Jami who is just a freshman ran like a seasoned senior today as she methodically worked her way to the front pack to qualify for nationals," continued Allshouse. "I can't finish without mentioning how impressive Lindsey Triggs ran today. Today was a break through moment for Lindsey as she placed 13th and was All-Conference. I think she knows now that she belongs at the front and will be at nationals herself next year. In a nutshell, I will go to sleep tonight feeling privileged to serve as the coach of so many special individuals," concluded Allshouse.
The National Meet will be held Saturday, November 21st in Vancouver, Washington. Stay tuned to the Jacket athletics website for continuing coverage of the men's and women's cross country national qualifiers and all of Jacket athletics.
For More Information on Graceland University Athletics Contact:
Matt Shelton, Sports Information Director (641) 784-5318 mshelton@graceland.edu
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