UH's Smith ready for championships

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

For University of Hawai'i senior Cheryl Smith, the journey to Monday's NCAA cross country championships is the thing, not the destination.

And she's not talking about the plane ride to Greenville, S.C.

Smith is excited about being the first Wahine runner to qualify for the NCAAs, and she is aiming for a top 25 finish, which would earn her All-America status. She also is thrilled that her parents will be flying from New York to watch her run for the first time in more than two years.

But to be one of only four runners from the West Region and one of 38 from across the nation qualifying as an individual, Smith had to squeeze every ounce of energy out of her 5-foot-2 frame and cover a tough 6-kilometer course in 21 minutes, 36.9 seconds last week in Tucson, Ariz.

That time was good enough to place her eighth overall among 165 competitors, but more importantly, it clinched the West's fourth individual NCAA berth for Smith and removed a huge weight off her shoulders.

"I'm relieved, I feel like most of the work is done," said Smith, who missed NCAA qualifying by one spot last year. "Now I can just focus on having a good race."

Smith has NCAA championship experience, though not as a UH runner. At State University of New York-Cortland, she actually became the first freshman to win the Division III national championship.

But Division I literally is another level. UH has been shut out from the NCAA championships since the meet's first year in 1982. The Wahine had three runners qualify for the AIAW championships in 1977 and two in 1978.

What's more, the West Region is considered by many to be the nation's strongest. It includes teams from the Pac-10, Big West and Big Sky conferences. Five of the nine teams competing at Monday's NCAA meet are from the West Region, including three at-large teams.

UH senior Casey McGuire-Turcotte barely missed qualifying, finishing fifth among individuals not on qualifying teams.

"Casey was on the bubble, and having Cheryl there helps us as far as getting Hawai'i on the map," Wahine coach Carmyn James said. "It's going to draw other people to us, because everyone wants to go to a program that sends runners to the NCAAs. Now that we have someone who finished in the top 10 of the West Region, people are starting to take notice."

Smith, who will be running 6K for only the second time this season, said she should be able to handle the distance. She runs 10K regularly during the track season.

And although she will be UH's lone representative among 255 harriers, Smith said she is not running just for herself.

"My teammates, everyone has been so supportive," Smith said. "I feel like I'll have them with me."