News

Shoeless Byrd wings it for strong finish

Catie Byrd (162) races to the finish line during the NCAA Division II championship on Saturday, Dec. 6.

By Bill Moss, Published: December 5, 2014

Despite losing a shoe in the first 200 yards, Hendersonville native Catie Byrd finished 32rd in the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship on Saturday, posting the best finish ever for a Queens University runner and earning All-America honors.

Byrd finished in a time of 21:58.5 on the extremely muddy trail that was shortened to a 5.78K from 6K because of the wet conditions.

Byrd, a 2012 graduate of North Henderson High School and a junior at Queens, competed in the NCAA Division II cross country nationals after winning the Southeast Regional a week earlier in Montevallo, Ala. She won the regional championship in a time of 21:56.98, demolishing her personal record in a 6K  by more than a minute. During the NCAA Division II Winter Festival in Louisville, Ky., on Tuesday, Byrd was honored as the Southeast Region Athlete of the Year. The collegiate sports festival features national tournaments in women's soccer, field hockey and volleyball and men's and women's cross country.

"They fed us at a banquet and had an opening ceremony," the 21-year-old distance runner said in an interview from Louisville. "It was at Churchill Downs."

She and other runners spent time touring the city, checking out restaurants and training on the cross country course that will determine the national champion. Conditions are muddy. "It's been raining since we got here," she said. The course is relatively flat. "It's actually one of the faster courses that we'll run. We'll probably run only about six miles today just to loosen up and then check out some spikes" suitable for the muddy trail. The starting gun goes off at 12:15 p.m.

Women's cross country races vary from a 5K to 6K. Before last Saturday's regional meet in Alabama, Byrd had run a 6K race (3.82 miles) just one time this season. After increasing her training to 70 miles a week, she won the race by a 21-second margin over teammate Megan Wright, a senior from Ohio who crossed the line in 22:17.92 to join Byrd in qualifying for the nationals.
"Both Catie and Megan ran impressively today," cross country coach Jim Vahrenkamp said in a story posted by the Queens sports information office. "From the very beginning they went straight to the front of the pack and controlled the race from the outset. I am really excited to watch them work together at the national meet with the intent of finishing in the top 40 to capture an all-America honors."
Byrd, the daughter of Jennifer and Chuck Byrd of Zirconia, ran her first two collegiate years at Spartanburg-Methodist College. After earning her two-year degree, she was recruited by the private school in Charlotte for her last two years of varsity cross country and track.
"They invited me to visit and I fell in love with it," she said. "It's a beautiful campus and the atmosphere is great."

Catie spends a lot more time logging road and trail miles than mall shopping.

"She searched for the right clothes to wear before she left," her mom said. "Being an athlete she did not have many nice dresses so I lent her one of mine."