FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – It was a record-setting day for the New Orleans Cross Country program as
Arina Kleshchukova became the first athlete in school history to advance to the NCAA Division I National Championships and
Kolyn Saltzman captured a men's All-Region honor for the first time in program history as the Privateers competed at the NCAA South Central Regionals on Friday.
Kleshchukova got the day started in the women's race and crossed the line in 10
th with a new personal best of 21:00.2. She was the third individual finisher overall which earned the standout junior an automatic bid to nationals.
The performance was the second-best 6K mark posted in school history.
"I'll go ahead and be cliché with it, it was magical," distance coach
Brock Moreaux said. "The goal today was to put ourselves in position and hope that the stars aligned and very fortunately things played out perfectly for Arina. A top-10 finish, eight spots better than last year. It was a day where the time didn't really matter, I told her to kind of throw the watch and race for a place and she did it perfectly."
"As coach mentioned before I didn't care about the time," Kleshchukova added. "There were a lot of strong girls running. It was just go with the flow and I know the last 2K was tough but I just did my best."
Saltzman kept the party going in the men's race that followed as he finished in 25
th overall with a personal record of 31:06.3. The time was the fastest recorded by a Privateer at the 10K distance to go with being the best finish by a male in program history at regionals. The time not only is the new school record in cross, it was the fastest 10K time posted in school history, including the track seasons.
"Before the race there was a big goal in mind to get All-Region, which is top-25, and then to make that a little bit sweeter it would've been nice to go sub-31," Saltzman said. "We just missed that by a little bit, a measly six seconds, but it was all about that killer mentality to get in it and get out of it and just work as hard as you can."
"I knew it was going to be a really tough last 2K for both of them and they fought it," Moreaux concluded. "It was a beautiful thing to watch."
Anna Martin and
David Hidalgo also competed in the regional race on the women's and men's side, respectively. Martin took 130
th overall with a time of 23:43.2 for 6K while Hidalgo posted a 34:15.4 over the 10K course to take 133rd. Both athletes set new personal bests with the showing.
Kleschukova will head to the NCAA National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind. while the rest of the cross country squads will enjoy a small break before the start of the track & field season in early January.
NEW ORLEANS MEN'S RESULTS
25.
Kolyn Saltzman – 31:06.3
133.
David Hidalgo – 34:15.4
NEW ORLEANS WOMEN'S RESULTS
10.
Arina Kleshchukova – 21:00.2
130.
Anna Martin – 23:43.2
TOP-FIVE MEN's TEAM SCORES
1. Texas – 39 Points
2. Arkansas – 67
3. Texas A&M – 128
4. Lamar – 134
5. Rice - 202
TOP-FIVE WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. Arkansas – 15 Points
2. Texas – 63
3. Texas A&M – 106
4. UT-Rio Grande Valley – 164
5. Rice - 180
