2008 Woodie Awards
Women finish second, men sixth in OVC title race
Val Kikkert
Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: Sports
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Leading the women was senior Lauren Blankenship. She won the race and claimed her third conference title. She was also named OVC Female Athlete of the Year for the third time.
Blankenship broke the record for the fastest collegiate time ever on the Spain Park course with a time of 17:26.34. She became the second runner in OVC history to win three championships.
Blankenship was named to the All-OVC First Team and will continue to train for the NCAA South Regional Championships in pursuit of her goal to be named All-American in cross-country.
Making the All-American list involves placing in the Top 25 at Nationals.
"Conference isn't that hard of a race so I was able to sit back during the first mile and a half. I pushed more toward the end because I had a lot of family there," she said.
Freshman Hillary Neal also received honors Saturday. She was named OVC Freshman of the Year and was placed on the All-OVC First Team. She ran the course with a time of 18:41.20, placing sixth overall.
Neal was recruited to Samford as a track athlete. She ran her first cross-country meet with the Bulldogs in the team's first race earlier this season.
Coach Glen McWaters said he was very pleased with the women's team performance.
"We have faced a lot of adversity this year through injuries and illnesses, but the team did really well despite all of this. I think we could have won if everyone was completely healthy," McWaters said.
Sophomore Lauren Pilcher came in third for Samford and 13th overall with a time of 19:16.96. She was named to the All-OVC Second Team.
Junior Britney Almaguer placed 17th with a time of 19:28.54, red-shirt freshman Ina Ables placed 29th with a time of 19:56.70 and freshman Jillian Klassen placed 30th with a time of 19:57.83.
Five weeks ago Samford hosted a conference race at the same course.