SANTA TERESA, N.M. - Tulane freshman Laurie Dalrymple made the All-Conference USA team, placing 15th overall as she paced her team to a sixth place finish at the C-USA Women's Cross Country Championship Saturday at the Santa Teresa Country Club in Santa Teresa, N.M.
The Green Wave scored a total of 152 points and averaged a time of 19:43.28 among scorers for the meet, but the highlight for the team was the freshman Dalrymple's all-conference performance.
"I'm very, very proud of Laurie. It's exciting for her," Tulane Head Coach Heather Van Norman said. "Every time she has run this year, I've turned to (assistant) coach (Chris Neal) and said, `You better watch her. She's unique.' She is just a fearless freshman. She just gets after it. She doesn't ask a lot of questions. She just knows her role and goes out there and does it."
Dalrymple led her team with a time of 18:57.1, while senior Keriann Langley placed 23rd with a time of 19:17.3 and senior Aubrey Phillips placed 30th with a time of 19:40.7. Senior Jill Shriver (43rd - 20:06.6) and junior Rachel Bryan (47th - 20:34.7) completed the scorers for the Green Wave. Junior Cecelia Clarke (62nd - 21:09.4) and senior Savannah Moon (80th - 22:14.5) ran sixth and seventh, respectively, for the Wave.
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Van Norman, who had hoped for a top-three finish, was frustrated with the outcome of the meet.
"It's disheartening. I feel bad for the kids. I feel bad for the team overall," Van Norman said. "We've been running really well. They've been training hard all year, and you watch other teams and the times that they've been running, and you think, `You know what? We've got a shot. At least top three.'
"We just didn't run very well.
We didn't compete. I've been telling the girls, it's just another race. It's conference, but it's just another race. They just have to relax. It just wasn't our day."
The Green Wave returns to action at the NCAA South Central Region Championship on Saturday, Nov. 10, in Waco, Texas.