10/20/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 18, 1999
Storyline: The UNLV cross country team has just two weeks remaining before competing in the inaugural Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships, to be held in Provo, UT, on Friday, October 29. The Rebels have never finished better than third at the conference championships and have not finished above fifth since the 1994 Big West Championships.
Recapping the UNLV Invitational: Seven Rebels ran career-best times, the third time in just four meets that at all the scorers have broken their personal marks. Sophomore Jenni Nelson (Seattle, WA/Univ. of Montana) raced to a third-place overall finish and cut her best time by 10 seconds to lead UNLV. Katie Barto (Henderson, NV/Green Valley) and Kathryn Goetz (Denver, CO/Univ. of Nevada, Reno) both posted top-10 finishes as the Rebels finished second in their home meet for the second straight year. Southern Utah won the team title, capturing four of the top seven finishes and scoring just 24 points.
Davidson Questionable for Mountain West Championships: Senior Stephanie Davidson, who had been the top UNLV finisher in every race, missed the Rebels? home meet with a leg injury. She remains questionable for the MWC Championships. She currently owns the league?s ninth-fastest time in the 5,000 meters.
Head Coach Karen Dennis: Karen Dennis is in her eighth year overseeing the cross country and track and field program at UNLV. In 1997, she was named by USA Track and Field as the head coach for the women?s national team that will compete in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She has coached 13 All-Americans since arriving at UNLV and was the 1993 MPSF Coach of the Year.
Quoting Distance Coach Mary Shea: ?The smaller meet offers a more competitive atmosphere. In this sport, it?s not just your time but your place in the race. Our times were good and we got the chance to race for higher finishes. That is the kind of training we need heading into conference.?
