Oct. 31, 2009
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Results: Men's Results
ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis sophomore Hilary Orf became the first Billiken to claim Atlantic 10 Cross Country All-Conference honors after placing 13th at the A-10 Championships Saturday morning at Forest Park in St. Louis.
The meet was run on a muddy course at Central Fields in Forest Park. Both the men's and women's team finished 11th, with Orf leading the women and senior Neal Rodrigues leading the men' squad.
"Hilary claiming an All-Conference honor speaks volumes to the direction the program is headed," SLU head coach Jon Bell said. "It couldn't have happened to anyone more deserving. She has worked hard and is starting to mature as a runner.
"This was Neal's best conference race ever," Bell continued. "It is a good way for him to go out as a senior. I'm happy because the men moved up a spot from where they finished last year, and they were close to George Washington which was right ahead of us in 10th. We have a young group and they ran tough in these hard conditions."
Orf turned in a 5K time of 20:28.5. The top 15 finishers in the A-10 meet automatically garner All-Conference accolades. SLU's previous best finish was an 18th-place showing by former Billiken Mary Moloney in 2007.
"With the conditions as they were, you can throw the times out the window," Orf said. "Our plan was to stay in a good position throughout the race. It was hard to maneuver, but everyone else had to race in the same conditions. I'm happy with the way I stuck to the race plan, and it was exciting to run in St. Louis in front of family and friends."
Sara Fraley placed 52nd overall with a time of 21:28.9, while Adair Quisenberry was 56th with a time of 21:31.7.
Amanda Labuz was 68th with a time of 21:43.4, while Julia Wykoff turned in an 88th-place time of 22:16.8. Laura Peabody crossed in 22:38.7. Maddie O'Quinn (23:42.0) and Julia Scanlon (25:31.8) rounded out the finishers for the Billikens.
On the men's side, Rodrigues led the Bills with a 47th-place finish, crossing the 8K line in 28:13.2.
"Coach Bradley wanted me to finish somewhere around 45th, so I went out and got into the position where I wanted to finish," Rodrigues said. "The conditions were such that it was hard to move up, so I pretty much stayed in that spot the entire race. The big picture is that I executed my race plan, so it was a good race. I was excited to run here for my last 8K. Going into the race I felt comfortable, and I'm pleased with the way things turned out."
Stephen Mackey (99th, 29:12.2) and Greg Orf (29:54.5) and J.J. Hannigan (31:55.1) rounded out the Billikens' finishers.
SLU returns to action Nov. 14 when it participates in the NCAA Midwest Regional in Springfield, Mo. The meet is slated to begin at 11 a.m.
