Nov. 30, 2011

TUCSON - The University of Arizona Wildcat men's and women's cross country teams concluded the 2011 campaign with the women finishing 19th at the NCAA Championships, the men's team finishing eighth in the conference and freshman Lawi Lalang winning the individual NCAA Championship.

In his tenth year at Arizona, head coach James Li led the cross country women to a fifth-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships. In their first event of the season, the UA women won the George Kyte Classic. Freshman Haley Stenquist was the top collegiate finisher, running the 5,000-meter race in 17:25.3, leading a 2-3-7-12-13 finish for the Wildcats.

The UA women next won the Dave Murray Invitational with sophomore Elvin Kibet winning the three-mile race in 16:22. Junior Jen Bergman finished in second with a time of 16:29. The Arizona women had nine of the top 10 finishers.

At the Roy Griak Invitational, the women finished third with Bergman finishing fourth in the 6K, clocking a time of 20:43. Kibet earned a fourth-place finish, running the race in 20:47.

Arizona won the Grand Canyon Invitational next, with senior Hanna Henson winning the 5,000-meter race in 18:04.7. Arizona had all seven runners finish in the top 12.

At the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, the UA women took third in a loaded field. Kibet earned a 12th-place finish, clocking a time of 20:21.1 in the 6,000 meters. Bergman had a time of 20:25.1, good for 15th place. UA had all five finishers in the top 77.

At the Pac-12 championships the UA women took fifth overall. Bergman finished in sixth place, running the 6K in 20:00. Kibet earned 13th place, clocking a time of 20:25. The Wildcats had a 6-13-19-28-38 finish, beating Arizona State and earning a State Farm Territorial Cup point. Bergman was a first-team All-Pac-12 honoree, while Kibet earned a spot on the second-team.

The UA women finished second at the NCAA West Regional. Kibet was the top finisher, clocking a time of 20:09 in the 6k, good for fourth place. Bergman was sixth overall with her clocking of 20:15.

At the NCAA Championships, the UA women finished in 19th overall. Bergman earned All-America status by finishing in 26th place, running the 6K in 20:13. Kibet finished in 52nd with a time of 20:39.

On the men's side, they earned an eighth place finish in the conference. At the George Kyte Classic, they finished third, and freshman Kenji Bierig was the team's top finisher, placing 14th with a time of 27:23.1 in the 8K.

At the Dave Murray Invitational the men took first, with freshman Lawi Lalang starting his season off with a win in the 4.25-mile race in a time of 20:06, winning by 54 seconds and setting a course record. Arizona had three top 10 finishers.

Lalang continued his winning ways at the Roy Griak Invitational where he beat the course record by 22.9 seconds, posting a time of 23:16. The men's team finished 19th overall, with sophomore Patrick Zacharias finishing 91st.

At the Grand Canyon Invitational, the men took second place. Junior Rory McLeod was the top finisher, clocking a time of 25:47.2 in the 8,000-meter race, good for seventh. UA had three finishers in the top 12.

Lalang won his third race at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, running 8,000 meters in 23:10.8, beating the previous course record by 18.2 seconds. The team finished 36th overall.

The UA men also earned a State Farm Territorial Cup point at the Pac-12 Championships, finishing in eighth place, one spot ahead of Arizona State. Lalang set another course record, winning the 8,000-meter race in a time of 22:37 and becoming Arizona's 11th individual conference champion.

Lalang won his first career 10,000-meter race with a time of 28:34 at the NCAA West Regional. Zacharias finished in 24th, clocking a time of 30:06 and earning himself a spot on the All-West Region second-team.

At the NCAA Championships, Lalang won the 10,000-meter race in 28:44.1, missing the course record by three seconds. He became Arizona's first individual male champion since Martin Keino in 1994.

Lalang won the USTFCCCA Male West Regional Athlete of the Year, USTFCCCA National Men's Athlete of the Year, Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year and Pac-12 Male Runner of the Year. He was a first-team All-Pac-12 performer, a first-team All-West Region honoree and an All-American.