Louisville's Emergence Continues

Cardinals win first Big East title

Oct. 30, 2007

By Brett Hess

Special for CSTV.com

	Brett Hess Brett Hess covers Cross Country for CSTV.com E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- TRACK/CROSS COUNTRY 11/19: Kipyego, Stanford Win As Expected 11/19: Blow For Blow To The Finish 11/16: Practically A Sure Thing 11/16: Championship Field Is A History Lesson In Motion 11/6: Irish Hope Shay Is An Inspiration 10/30: Louisville's Emergence Continues 10/23: No Margin For Error 10/16: Kuijken, FSU Race Toward Postseason 10/09: Liberty's McDougal Begins Run For Title 10/02: Rice Women Surprise At Notre Dame 9/25: Invitational Season In Full Swing 9/19: Still Pinching Herself 9/11: Kipyego, Barringer Are Favorites 9/4: Lomong and Rupp Lead Returnees 6/8: Texas Tech's Kipyego Closes In On History 6/7: Arizona's Arnold Sets Record in Decathlon 6/5: FSU Isn't Feeling The Pressure 6/5: Throwers Lead Sun Devils to Sacramento 5/29: Stars Shine at NCAA Regional Meets 5/26: Florida State Primed For East Regional Title 5/26: Top-Ranked LSU Women Trailing At Mideast Regional 5/22: Hastings Does It Her Way 5/15: Wisconsin, Omole Make History at Big Ten Meet 5/8: Notre Dame's Huddle Finishing Strong 5/1: Drake or Penn? Why Not Both? 4/24: Hokies Show Courage In Competing 4/17: Senioritis is Good for Diana Pickler 4/10: Little Longhorn With Big Heart 3/26: Patience Pays Off For Duke's Rowbury 3/20: Just Like The Movies 3/11: Solinsky Leads Wisconsin To First-Ever Track Title 3/11: Front-Running Sun Devils 3/11: Saluki Strong 3/9: The Dual Is On 3/9: Stevens Helps Pace Sun Devils To Early Lead 3/6: Outdoor Champ FSU Favored Indoors 3/5: Sun Devils Look to Take Next Step 2/20: As Belt Leaps Higher, So Does L'ville 2/6: Huskies Running Out In Front 11/19: Stanford's Aiming For Repeat 11/19: Wisconsin Favored To Defend Title

If there were ever a book titled, "How to Build a Championship College Cross Country Program," there is no doubt who would be the author.

That distinction would go to Louisville's Ron Mann. In just his fourth season, Mann has built a Big East champion. Last Saturday the No. 19 Cardinals won their first conference championship, beating three other ranked teams.

"That certainly was a great day for our program. A lot of fun, for sure," Mann said Monday about the conference title. "It's a strong league. It's an accomplishment for us to win it."

If Mann were to write this aforementioned book, the first chapter would be titled: "Establish Your Reputation."

While at Northern Arizona, Mann's stop before Louisville, he built a national power over 25 years. The Lumberjacks won 12 NCAA Regional championships in cross country alone and 16 top 10 national finishes in track/cross country combined.

So when a coach of this stature comes to Louisville, which Mann considered a hidden jewel, winning is almost assured.

It also helped that Mann is an Indiana native, as is his wife, and he had successfully recruited the Midwest throughout his tenure at Northern Arizona. His reputation clearly preceded him.

The next chapter might be titled: "Something Borrowed." Mann admits he was fortunate enough to get Korir when Murray State shut down its program.

"[Murray State coach] Norbert Elliott, an old friend of mine, sent Wesley to me," Mann said. "That was immediate help. He's the rock we could build our program around."

Korir's growth was evident this past Saturday, said Mann.

"He wanted to win [the individual title] and he didn't," Mann said of Korir. "But as soon as he finished, he didn't stop and sulk. He turned around (in the chute) to see where his teammates were. The team title meant more to him."

Another transfer who paid immediate dividends has been senior Soimo Kiplagat, who transferred from Lindenwood University, where he was a two-time NAIA national champ.

"Things came together very quickly, that's for sure," Mann said.

Chapter three might be titled, "Something Old." When Mann arrived, Louisville had just finished third in the C-USA meet.

"There was a pretty solid group of returning runners," Mann said. "The administration was ready to move to the Big East and everything was in place."

And Chapter four? How about, "Something New," as in Mann recruits Scott McClain, Matt Smith and Michael Eaton. All three are sophomores and Kentucky natives and surprisingly mesh well with Kenyans Korir and Kiplagat.

"The way to build a program is to find kids who will buy into your training system," Mann said. "And have kids who will work hard and work together. This team certainly has chemistry. They work well together."

And the final chapter? How about, "Run Fast and Win Championships?"

Mann said last year was actually a bigger step in the development of the program. That was when, after finishing fourth at the Big East meet, the Cardinals finished third at the NCAA Regionals to advance to the national meet. There the No. 25 Cardinals finished 15th. It was the greatest season in school history.

"We've been through the process now," Mann said of this year's team. "It's another cog in the wheel. Experience. Now these guys will go from winning the Big East and be prepared for the region meet. And then the national meet. They will be able to put each meet into perspective."

The NCAA region meets will be held on Nov. 10 and be hosted by Louisville at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park.

Maybe the epilogue would be titled, "Host Your Own Championships."

Conference Streaks Extended

Championship weekend continued to be a ritual for schools like Colorado, Arkansas and Stanford. While Louisville was establishing its reputation, other conferences saw the same old story. Not that there was anything wrong with that.

PAC-10: The Stanford women (ranked No. 1 nationally) won their 12th straight league title behind the 1-2 punch of Arianna Lambie and Teresa McWalters. Lambie won her third straight individual conference title in leading the Cardinal to 48 points. The nation's No. 2 team, Oregon, placed second with 64 points. No. 5 Arizona State (68) was third and No. 9 Washington (68) was fourth.

No. 1 Oregon won the men's race also on the strength of a 1-2 finish from Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott and Galen Rupp. The Ducks finished with 39 points to runner-up Stanford's 55.

SEC: The Arkansas men won their 34th straight conference title, the last 17 coming in the SEC. No. 8 Arkansas placed five runners in the top 11 to win with 36 points. Florida (74) was runner-up.

The No. 13 Arkansas women also won, 39-84, over runner-up Tennessee.

Big 12: The Colorado men remained perfect in conference history, winning their 12th (of 12) championship. The No. 5 Buffaloes scored 34 points to runner-up Oklahoma State's 48. Brent Vaughn and Kenyon Neuman finished first and second to lead Colorado.

The Colorado women also won, claiming their ninth straight title and 11th in 12 years. Defending national champ Sally Kipyego won the meet but Colorado's Jennifer Barringer was runner-up.

Big Ten: The No. 6 Wisconsin men won their ninth straight conference title, breaking their own league record for consecutive titles. The Badgers' Matt Withrow won the individual title and Wisconsin placed five runners in the top 10 to total just 33 points.

The No. 8 Minnesota women pulled of a mild upset to win over No. 6 Michigan and No. 7 Michigan State. The Golden Gophers did it with superior pack-running, placing 10th and then 14th thru 17th for 72 points. Michigan State (73 points) and Michigan (90) followed.

Big Sky: One of the nation's top individual runners, Lopez Lomong, led his Northern Arizona team to the league title, 22-55, over runner-up Weber State.