November 18, 2007
Texas A&M sophomore Christina Munoz will represent the Aggie cross country team on Monday when she competes in the NCAA Championships, held on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
The women?â„¢s race, starting a 11:55 a.m., will cover 6,000 meters. There will be live coverage of the race on CSTV and online at www.cstv.com. A link to the online webcast is available at aggieathletics.com. The show airs live from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (CST).
Munoz is the third different A&M female to qualify for the NCAA Championships as an individual over the past three seasons. Sarah Balfour qualified in 2005 while Merideth Snow earned a berth last season. For Aggie coach Dan Waters it?â„¢s his 13th NCAA qualifier in the past 13 seasons.
?I?â„¢ve been preparing mentally for it, so I think I?â„¢m ready for race day,? Munoz said. ?When you run by yourself in a meet like this you have more time to really know yourself as a runner and a person. I think it will be good for me.?
Finishing as Texas A&M?â„¢s number two runner for a majority of the season, Munoz led the Aggies in two postseason meets as she earned All-Big 12 and All-Region honors.
During the Big 12 Championships in Lubbock, Munoz placed 11th with teammate Balfour taking 12th. Then at the South Central Region meet, Munoz earned a berth into the NCAA field by placing fifth with a time of 20:54.
?It was fun getting to tell my family and my high school coach what I accomplished,? said Munoz of advancing to the NCAA Championships.
Munoz ran on the NCAA course last year when Texas A&M competed at the Pre National meet. Running in an open race, Munoz covered the course in 22:34. She has run significantly faster than that in each of her three 6,000-meter races this season.
?It?â„¢s a really good course with open, wide areas,? noted Munoz. ?It?â„¢s going to be awesome to run on it again. I think it?â„¢s going to go much better this year. I like the course since it covers the distance we have to run in just one loop.?
When Munoz ran the Agri Park course a second time this fall during the regional meet, she bettered her time by 51 seconds from when she ran at the Chile Pepper Festival a month before.
?I?â„¢m glad that I?â„¢ve been improving every week and at every race,? Munoz said. ?I?â„¢m really looking forward to improving in this race as well.?
Big 12 teams competing in the women?â„¢s NCAA field include Colorado, Baylor and Texas Tech. Individuals who qualified from the conference include Iowa State?â„¢s Grace Kenney and Lisa Koll, Nebraska?â„¢s Lara Crofford and Jessica Eldridge of Oklahoma.