Saturday, November 20, 2004
WATKINS AND PARR FINISH STRONG AT
NAIA NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Virginia Intermont, Simon Fraser Capture 2004 NAIA Cross Country Titles
Louisville, Ky. – Junior’s Irina Watkins (Varkaus, Finland) and Kelly Parr (Maysville, Ga.) represented the North Georgia College & State University cross country teams well on Saturday at the NAIA National Championships. Watkins finished 36th out of 258 runners overall in a time of 18:39.90 and Parr finished 208th out of 259 runners in a time of 27:57.30.
Rain had come down throughout the day on Friday and had made for true cross country conditions on the course. The runners at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park slushed through the grass and mud on the women’s 5k course and the men’s 8k course.
Virginia Intermont College won its first NAIA men’s cross country national championship while Simon Fraser University reclaimed the women’s crown for the second straight year.
Virginia Intermont recorded a team score of 54 with Aquinas College (Mich.) earning second place with a score of 175. Virginia Intermont was paced by Fernando Cabada. Individual medalist honors went to Soimo Kiplaget of Lindenwood University (Mo.) who finished in a time of 24:17.20
Simon Fraser won its seventh women’s title by beating second place finisher Concordia University (Neb.) 95-129. Mirriam Kaumbia of Oklahoma Baptist took home the individual honors for the second straight year with a time of 16:53.70. |
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Kelly Parr makes his way at the start of the race |
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Irina Watkins leads a pack at the two mile mark |
Simon Fraser’s head coach, Brit Townsend was named the 2004 NAIA Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year while Scott Simmons of Virginia Intermont took home the men’s honor. Watkins and Parr complete one of the most successful cross country seasons in four years as the Saints finished third and seventh at the NAIA Region XIII meet two weeks ago. |
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More Images from the 2004 NAIA Nationals
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