Saturday, November 19
Terre Haute, Ind.
9 a.m.
University of San Francisco
vs
NCAA Championships
No. 10 Dons Ready for Nationals
11/18/2016 4:07:00 PM | Cross Country
VIDEO: USF Trio Preview the NCAA Championships
No. 10 USF Dons at the NCAA Cross Country Championships
Saturday, Nov. 19 | Women: 8 a.m. PT | Men: 9 a.m. PT
LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course | Terre Haute, Ind.
Video via FloTrack | Live Stats | Meet Info
SAN FRANCISCO – The No. 10 San Francisco women's cross country team line up in the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning, making their fourth team appearance in the national finale.
For the 12th time since 2002, Indiana State and the city of Terre Haute will host the Championships at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, with the women toeing the line in the 6K at 8 am. PT, followed by the men's 10K at 9 a.m. PT.
The Dons are one of 31 squads in the field, and USF enjoys its highest ranking nationally at just the right time of year. After a third place finish at the NCAA West Regionals, and a second place individual performance for senior Charlotte Taylor, the team's upward trajectory has the team poised for a solid showing on the biggest stage of the year.
"We are in a really good place going into the championships and look forward to the challenge ahead of us," noted USF head coach Helen Lehman-Winters before setting out for Indiana. "Our team understands that they just need to stay focused on the process and do what we do which is compete and get the most out of ourselves. We feel that we have some really good momentum after our performance at regionals and look forward to living up to our top ten ranking."
The team's rise is no surprise to senior Elena Burkard, making her third appearance at NCAA's (2013, '15, '16). In 2013's race, the then-sophomore was USF's top individual finisher as she helped the team to 18th overall.
"Going into the semester we knew that were are a good team, but it's one thing being a good team on paper and actually executing in races," she noted. "I feel like we did pretty well with that already at the beginning of the semester, but just figuring out more and more how to work with your teammates and how to be successful as a team.
"It's cross country, so you never really know what is going to happen. You never know how the weather is going to be, how the course is laid out. But in the end it's just another race and we know that we are fit, so we want to work off each other, work together, and when it gets tough really race for your teammates and not just for yourself. It's much easier to go through the pain when you race for somebody else."
Her teammates making the trip with her are first-timers to the meet Marie Bouchard, Isabelle Brauer and Frederique Latraverse. Weronika Pyzik and Tatjana Schulte make a return to the Championships after running with the 28th-place Dons one year ago, and transfer Heleene Tambet is in the mix for the Green and Gold after winning the national championship with New Mexico in 2015. Last, but certainly not least is Taylor, who has recorded a Top 10 individual finish in every race she has finished this season, including her regional runner-up performance.
The trio of Burkard, Taylor and Bouchard discussed what it will take to achieve their goals of recording USF's highest finish in program history, and continuing to make an indelible mark as one of the nation's best.
"I think teamwork is going to be really important, noted Bouchard. "Even though we're only seven girls on the starting line, we are 13 on the team. We know we are winning together."
"Toughness is going to be really important," added Burkard. "It is for every race, but especially in this high quality field you really need to be tough the last 2K and run to your maximum."
Taylor summed it up with one word – heart.
"I think if we all run with heart then we'll do a good job. We all know how much each of our other teammates has put into this, with training and the races that go behind getting us to this point in the season. If we can remember that on the day and run with heart then it will be a good race."
Watch the Dons vie for the title on Saturday at 8 a.m. PT, with the event streaming live on FloTrack. Following the women's race, WCC champion Alex Short will compete as an individual in the men's field. Watch his race preview and learn more about Short here.
For fans in the Terre Haute area, tickets to the championships are $10.
No. 10 USF Dons at the NCAA Cross Country Championships
Saturday, Nov. 19 | Women: 8 a.m. PT | Men: 9 a.m. PT
LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course | Terre Haute, Ind.
Video via FloTrack | Live Stats | Meet Info
SAN FRANCISCO – The No. 10 San Francisco women's cross country team line up in the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning, making their fourth team appearance in the national finale.
For the 12th time since 2002, Indiana State and the city of Terre Haute will host the Championships at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, with the women toeing the line in the 6K at 8 am. PT, followed by the men's 10K at 9 a.m. PT.
The Dons are one of 31 squads in the field, and USF enjoys its highest ranking nationally at just the right time of year. After a third place finish at the NCAA West Regionals, and a second place individual performance for senior Charlotte Taylor, the team's upward trajectory has the team poised for a solid showing on the biggest stage of the year.
"We are in a really good place going into the championships and look forward to the challenge ahead of us," noted USF head coach Helen Lehman-Winters before setting out for Indiana. "Our team understands that they just need to stay focused on the process and do what we do which is compete and get the most out of ourselves. We feel that we have some really good momentum after our performance at regionals and look forward to living up to our top ten ranking."
The team's rise is no surprise to senior Elena Burkard, making her third appearance at NCAA's (2013, '15, '16). In 2013's race, the then-sophomore was USF's top individual finisher as she helped the team to 18th overall.
"Going into the semester we knew that were are a good team, but it's one thing being a good team on paper and actually executing in races," she noted. "I feel like we did pretty well with that already at the beginning of the semester, but just figuring out more and more how to work with your teammates and how to be successful as a team.
"It's cross country, so you never really know what is going to happen. You never know how the weather is going to be, how the course is laid out. But in the end it's just another race and we know that we are fit, so we want to work off each other, work together, and when it gets tough really race for your teammates and not just for yourself. It's much easier to go through the pain when you race for somebody else."
Her teammates making the trip with her are first-timers to the meet Marie Bouchard, Isabelle Brauer and Frederique Latraverse. Weronika Pyzik and Tatjana Schulte make a return to the Championships after running with the 28th-place Dons one year ago, and transfer Heleene Tambet is in the mix for the Green and Gold after winning the national championship with New Mexico in 2015. Last, but certainly not least is Taylor, who has recorded a Top 10 individual finish in every race she has finished this season, including her regional runner-up performance.
The trio of Burkard, Taylor and Bouchard discussed what it will take to achieve their goals of recording USF's highest finish in program history, and continuing to make an indelible mark as one of the nation's best.
"I think teamwork is going to be really important, noted Bouchard. "Even though we're only seven girls on the starting line, we are 13 on the team. We know we are winning together."
"Toughness is going to be really important," added Burkard. "It is for every race, but especially in this high quality field you really need to be tough the last 2K and run to your maximum."
Taylor summed it up with one word – heart.
"I think if we all run with heart then we'll do a good job. We all know how much each of our other teammates has put into this, with training and the races that go behind getting us to this point in the season. If we can remember that on the day and run with heart then it will be a good race."
Watch the Dons vie for the title on Saturday at 8 a.m. PT, with the event streaming live on FloTrack. Following the women's race, WCC champion Alex Short will compete as an individual in the men's field. Watch his race preview and learn more about Short here.
For fans in the Terre Haute area, tickets to the championships are $10.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
XC | 2021 USF Invitational
Tuesday, September 07
Lizzie Bird In the 3000m Steeplchase Finals
Wednesday, August 04
2020 NCAA Cross Country National Championship Preview
Monday, March 15
Celebrating International Women's Day
Monday, March 08
