Zoom [+]

RGJ FILE

Mel Lawrence, a Reno High graduate, placed 32nd in Saturday’s NCAA Regionals for the University of Washington cross country team. Washington, ranked No. 7, placed fourth and qualified for Monday’s NCAA Championships hosted by Indiana State.

<script language="java-script" type="text/java-script"> document.write('<a href="http://clk.atdmt.com/HEI/go/rngzthbk0350000001hei/direct/01/?source=BKV2000000365" target="_blank"><img src="http://view.atdmt.com/HEI/view/rngzthbk0350000001hei/direct/01/"/></a>'); </script><noscript><a href="http://clk.atdmt.com/HEI/go/rngzthbk0350000001hei/direct/01/?source=BKV2000000365" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://view.atdmt.com/HEI/view/rngzthbk0350000001hei/direct/01/" /></a></noscript>

advertisement

Gilbert to ask for more info at hearing Football: Brennan practices, should play boxing: Gilbert's B sample test in question
Related news from the Web
SportsNCAA SportsUniversity of Washington NCAAWashington State Cougars NCAA FootballWashington State University NCAANCAA FootballWashington Huskies NCAA FootballPowered by Topix.net

CROSS COUNTRY
WHAT: NCAA Championships
WHEN: Monday
WHERE: Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Ind.

advertisement

Although she faltered a bit in the NCAA Regionals, Mel Lawrence had a solid debut in her cross country career for the University of Washington.

Lawrence finished in 32nd place with a time of 21 minutes, 17 seconds at Saturday's regionals in Springfield, Ore.

"It wasn't one of my better races," Lawrence said. "I could tell beforehand it wasn't going to be my best day. Just a gut feeling, I guess."

Washington, ranked No. 7, finished fourth as a team and qualified for Monday's NCAA Championships, hosted by Indiana State.

For Lawrence, the Reno High graduate and three-time Nevada state cross country champion, it was one of the few off days she's had since moving north. The freshman placed 13th at the Pac-10 Championships and earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors. She has been in Washington's top three in all but one race, and she was sick during that fourth-place finish.

Lawrence raced against her older sister Collier, who competes for Washington State, twice this season, including at Saturday's regional. When Mel was a freshman at Reno and Collier was a senior, the two would run almost side-by-side in front of the pack.

"She came up to me in the first mile and tapped me on the shoulder and we smiled at each other," Mel said. "There was a little bump, an uphill section, and we both almost fell down. We laughed at each other and said, 'OK, it's time to race now.'"