University of Illinois
NCAA Midwest Regional
Morgan Earns Midwest All-Region Honors
November 13, 2010 | Women's Cross Country
Nov. 13, 2010
NCAA Midwest Regional Championships Results 
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Photo Gallery
PEORIA, Ill. - Sophomore Stephanie Morgan paced the Illini on Saturday at the NCAA Midwest Regional, earning All-Region honors for the second-consecutive year and leading the Orange and Blue to a ninth-place finish out of 27 squads. Senior Chantelle Groenewoud's quest for a third consecutive All-Region honor came up just short, as she nearly bounced back from a fall at the 2K mark to finish in the top 25.
"Overall, I thought we ran really well," cross country coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "We finished the season strong and had every runner run a season best or right at their best marks. We're already excited about track season."
Morgan, a sophomore transfer from Baylor, ran a 20-plus second 6K personal best for the second race in a row. After trimming 24 seconds off her time during the Big Ten Championships, Morgan (20:46.10) improved by nearly 25 seconds to pace the Illini and finish 20th overall. Morgan, who earned South Central All-Region honors last year as a freshman at Baylor with a time of 21:33.1, again picked up the accolade, which is awarded to the top-25 finishers in the event.
"Stephanie ran really well for us," Rasmussen said. "We've always thought she could run this well at the end of the year, and it's great to see that she got this far. For her, it was all about sustaining runs and finishing strong. She was steadily getting better throughout the year, but we really saw it today. She picked it up and passed people in the last 800 meters."
Groenewoud (20:54.92), who was trying for a third consecutive All-Region honor, was running with Morgan at the beginning of the race, before getting tripped up at the 2K mark. As she tried to get up, she again stumbled, but still managed to run a time of 20:54, just four seconds off her 6K personal best and good for 26th overall.
"It was really disappointing for Chantelle," Rasmussen said. "It's disappointing to fall and come up just one place short of All-Region."
Stacy Hague (21:08.70) finished third for the team and 36th overall. Hague finished a junior cross country campaign that saw her set a personal best at all three distances she competed in. Hague led the Illini three times in 2010 and finished second three other times.
Courtney Yaeger (21:44.95) set a personal best and placed fourth for the Illini and 73rd overall, while Amber Stack (21:51.26) finished fifth for the team and 84th overall to round out the scoring. True freshman Melissa Schmidt (22:01.44) and senior Ashley Thompson (22:23.58) finished sixth and seventh on the team, respectively.
Minnesota's Stephanie Price won the meet, finishing .06 faster than Iowa State's Betsy Saina. Iowa State won the meet, scoring just 35 points and placing three runners in the top five, while Oklahoma State (105) placed second, as both squads earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
Illinois Results
20. Stephanie Morgan 20:46.10
26. Chantelle Groenewoud 20:54.92
36. Stacy Hague 21:08.70
73. Courtney Yaeger 21:44.95
84. Amber Stack 21:51.26
95. Melissa Schmidt 22:01.44
111. Ashley Thompson 22:23.58
Top-10 Team Results (27 total teams)
1. Iowa State 35
2. Oklahoma State 105
3. Minnesota 118
4. Tulsa 133
5. Kansas State 154
6. Kansas 192
7. Iowa 208
8. Nebraska 233
9. ILLINOIS 236
10. Wichita State 153
