All-SEC Cross Country Runner Catherine Wanyoike
Set For National Competition
November 24, 2002
Senior Catherine Wanyoike will compete in the NCAA Cross Country Championships, in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 25. She qualified for the championships when she finished eighth at the NCAA South Regional Championships on Nov. 16.
In five meets, this season, the Kiambu, Kenya, native led the Tigers over the finish line. In her first meet of the season, Wanyoike won the individual title in the 5,000-meter race and led Auburn to a first place finish at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Sept. 19.
She went on to finish second, in a time of 17:06.30, at the Willamette Invitational in Salem, Ore., on Oct. 5, where the team also finished in second place with 47 points. Two weeks later, when the Tigers hosted the Auburn Invitational, Wanyoike finished in third place (17:05.02), while the team placed second out of 30 teams.
At the Southeastern Conference Championships in Gainesville, Fla., on Nov. 4, Auburn finished fourth with Wanyoike, once again, leading the group. She posted a time of 21:32.78 in the 6,000-meter race, which was good for third place and All-SEC honors.
The All-SEC runner and her teammates finished their final meet, as a team, at the NCAA South Regionals, in Knoxville, Tenn., on Nov. 16. The team finished the race in fourth place, two spots short of qualifying for national competition, but Wanyoike finished the race in fifth place in a time of 22:13.57, qualifying her for the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Wanyoike will be the sixth individual to represent Auburn University at the women's NCAA Cross Country Championships. She joins Alexis Hamblet, Nerissa Johnson, Janet Trujillo and two-time qualifier Rachel Sauder on the Auburn women's cross country list of national competitors.
Results from the championships will be available on www.ncaachampionships.com and www.indstate.edu/athletic.