Aug. 31, 2002

MONTGOMERY, Texas - Bo Price and Debbie Thornhill both posted first-place finishes here late Friday night as Baylor opened its 2002 season with a dominating performance at the Rice Cross Country Meet.

Price ran the men's 5,000 meters in a time of 15 minutes, 39 seconds; he was one of four Bears to place in the top 10. Kyle King, a senior transfer from North Texas, finished second at 15:43, Nick Devenport finished fourth at 15:53 and Matt Chance was eighth at 16:05. Baylor also got strong outings from Sam Bernal (23rd, 17:10) and Robert Harris (26th, 17:24).

Thornhill, a junior transfer from North Texas who claimed the 10,000 meters title at last spring's Big 12 Conference Outdoor Championships, dominated the women's field. She finished the 5,000-meter run in 18:00, 37 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

In all, Baylor placed four women in the top 10 and seven in the top 20. Leah Marbach finished fifth (18:50), Megan McCoin was eighth (18:55), Lisa Cornelius was ninth (19:14), Emily Bonilla was 15th (19:46), Katherine Duncan was 16th (19:47) and Anna Kaczmarek finished 20th (19:59). Lindsey Price finished 29th for Baylor with a time of 21:59, one spot ahead of teammate April Hurst (22:01).

Both teams return to action in two weeks at the Rice Invitational in Houston, Texas.