Friday Cardinal Couple - History of Cross-Country and More

A History of UofL Women’s Sports Chapter 4: Cross Country

Continuing with our Friday history lessons we proceed with the final fall semester sport- women’s cross country.  Of all the sports I’ve researched so far, this one has been the most difficult due to lack records and documentation.  Cross country has often been a combined mixture of men’s and women’s cross country, adding to the difficulty of deciphering everything.

GoCards only shows history back through 1999 but Wikipedia goes back to 1996, when the Cards were conference champions, the only one in program history.

Dale Cowper is the current head coach for both cross country and track and field for the men and women.  Being the head coach of multiple sports can be quite a task, but Cowper has been happy to take on the challenge, where he has been since 2013.  Prior to becoming head coach, Cowper was an assistant from 2006-2013. 

Cross Country has had a moderate of success despite lack of coverage.  Many of the players, who also compete in track and field in the spring, have earned All-American honors.  Dorcas Wasike is a recent name that is well-known.  She has ACC Runner of the Year and ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year accolades among other awards.

Although the University does not have a set location for cross country to use they do have Cardinal Park that can be used in track and field season.  E.P Tom Sawyer State Park has become the unofficial home for UofL Cross Country.  Last season, Dorcas Wasike claimed the title for the 5km race on the women’s side during the Louisville Cross Country Classic.  The ACC Championships have also been held at the state park off Westport Rd, with the Cards placing second.  Most recently, the NCAA Championships were hosted in town.  Several events happen on the road in nearby places such as Nashville, Knoxville, Terre Haute (Ind.), and Evansville.

Unfortunately, even trying to dig back as far as 10 years in history for roster, coaches, and results is near impossible so we’re left with very little for Chapter 4, although I will continue to do research and sneak in tidbits here and there.

Local High School Teams Nationally Ranked

We don’t always appreciate the local talent in terms of sports recruitment but here in Louisville some of the best talent around the country can be found.

During the fall of 2018, Assumption High School volleyball finished 43-0 en route to a state championship and finished in the USA Today national rankings #1.  Mercy High School (32-7) finished ranked 16^th.

Sacred Heart high school finished high in the USA Today national rankings in soccer.  After a 25-1-1 season Sacred Heart was ranked 8^th.

Recently, Louisville Male High School softball (Go Bulldogs! -myself and Daryl) won the state championship and finished 39-0, ending the season ranked #1 in the USA Today national rankings.

Other Tidbits

Major shoutout to UofL baseball on their walk-off victory over Mississippi State last night. They advance to the baseball version of the Final Four and play Vanderbilt tonight. They’ll have to beat Vandy twice to advance to the best-of-three championship.

Paulie is out of town this weekend so it will be Worldwide, Case, and myself in studio with hopes of having Daryl Foust join us.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared