Josh finished 4th

[krh44]

I was following some live coverage and Josh finished 4th today at Nationals. Great job

[Sly Fox]

Yeah, he was right out front until the final mile or so when the two seniors & junior pulled away from him a bit. Congrats to Josh for another great season.

[Stevev]

Josh is someone that LU and all of it's alumi can be very proud of right now and for years to come.

[PAmedic]

Excellent job Josh!
next up, Olympic trials?

McDougal Earns All-American Honors with Fourth Place Finish

November 21, 2005 · Terra Haute, Ind.

For the second-consecutive season, Liberty’s Josh McDougal has earned All-American honors as he placed fourth at this year’s NCAA Cross Country National Championships, Monday afternoon, on the La Vern Gibson Championship Course.

Coming into the race McDougal was touted as one of the contenders for the national championship. His time of 29:32.6 on the 10k course was a personal best, while only be bested by this year’s winner Simon Bairu of Wisconsin (29:15.9), Richard Kiplagat of Iona (29:21.9) and Chris Solinsky of Wisconsin (29:27.8).

A month earlier McDougal had run the La Vern Gibson Championship Course (8k) and set a new course record, breaking the previous record by 18 seconds.

McDougal’s sophomore season was much like his freshman as he won every race leading up to the national championship, placing 13th at the NCAA Championships a season ago.

All the super-soph did this season was set course records at the Stanford Invitational, NCAA Pre-Nationals, Big South Championship and NCAA Southeast Regional Championships, while winning six out of seven races.

[PAmedic]

N&A story:

McDougal fourth at nationals

From staff reports
Lynchburg News & Advance
November 22, 2005

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Liberty University’s Josh McDougal didn’t like the slow pace Monday.

He was grouped in the front pack at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, when he decided to make the first move on the 10K La Vern Gibson championship course.

McDougal made a surge at seven kilometers to thin the pack then pushed into the top three after a surge by Wisconsin’s Simon Bairu at eight kilometers. In the end, McDougal, a sophomore, finished fourth with a time of 29:32.6.

Bairu won the race in 29:15.9 and Iona’s Richard Kiplagat was second in 29:21.9. Wisconsin’s Chris Solinsky passed McDougal in the final kilometer to finish third in 29:27.8.

In the women’s 6K race, James Madison senior Shannon Saunders (Jefferson Forest) finished 96th in 21:06.6. Northern Arizona junior Johanna Nilsson won the individual title with a time of 19:33.9.

“I’m happy with the effort I put forth,” McDougal said in a phone interview after the men’s race. “It was pretty intense. I went out and did the best I could. It was my best effort, so I have no complaints.”

According to Liberty coach Brant Tolsma, McDougal was up front all the way through eight kilometers.

“The race got a little slow on the second and third miles,” Tolsma said. “He didn’t want to take it that early. Then he started pushing the pace. The guys who went 1-2 started pushing after that. (Josh) couldn’t hang with them when they threw in a couple of surges. It wasn’t quite the way he wanted it.”

“I was hoping others were going to push the pace,” McDougal said. “When it got to 5K, I decided to take it.”

The pace of the race may have ruined McDougal’s chance of winning.

“I think what hurt him was when the race got slow for a while,” Tolsma said. “You don’t like somebody to force the race the whole way. When you look at the top 12 guys, all of them are big name runners.”

McDougal, who finished 13th as a freshman last year, entered this year’s race as one of the favorites. He recently broke the record for an 8K on the La Vern Gibson course by 18 seconds.

McDougal had another stellar season. He set course records at the Stanford Invitational, NCAA Pre-Nationals, Big South Championships and NCAA Southeast Regional Championships. He won six out of seven races.

“It was a good season,” McDougal said. “It’s definitely an improvement over last year and next year maybe I’ll win it. I would like to win it next year and the year after, but it definitely will be tough.”

“He’ll have to go back and work, get better so he can win no matter how the race goes,” Tolsma said. “The guys who won were both seniors. They have a little more experience. (Josh) did a good job.”