RUSTON, La. - The Hawai'i women's cross country team finished fifth at the WAC Championships, Saturday, at Lincoln Parish Park. The Rainbow Wahine posted their highest showing at the WAC Championships since finishing fourth in 2001.

Freshman Sabrina Reeve paced UH with a season-best time of 17:56 for ninth place. Since joining the squad in October, Reeve has recorded the team's fastest time in the last three meets.

Moments later, sophomore Dana Buchanan crossed the finish line in 18:10, good for 11th place. Also posting qualifying times for the Rainbow Wahine were Chantelle Laan (18:44, 19th), Danielle Binns (19:33, 37th), and Kelly Young (19:48, 46th).

"I thought, as a team, we performed well," head coach Carmyn James said. "Sabrina had the third fastest time for a freshman and all of our girls ran under 20:00. We just missed out of fourth place by one point, so overall I thought we had a good experience."

SMU captured the team title as all five qualifying runners finished in the Top 10. Rice's Kate Gorry took home individual honors, finishing the 5K event in 17:01.

With their ninth and 11th place finishes, Reeve and Buchanan were named to the all-WAC second team. In addition, Sheena Thain (19:54, 48th) and Sharlene Carillo (19:58, 50th) also competed for the Rainbow Wahine.

Hawai`i will next compete in the NCAA West Regionals, Nov. 13, in Fresno, Calif.

-UH-