Women's Cross Country Southern Conference

SoCon Women's Cross Country Capsules for September 30th - October 2nd

September 30, 2005 - Eagle Cross Country Team Takes First Place at Gardner-Webb

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.- The Georgia Southern Cross Country team defeated Gardner-Webb and Southern Conference opponent Wofford to win the GW Duals on Friday afternoon (Sep. 30).

Collectively, the Eagles managed a team score of 30 which bested Gardner-Webb’s total of 40 and Wofford’s score of 80. Georgia Southern claimed the third through fifth overall spots of the meet with senior Brittney Jett (3rd) finishing in 15:47.00 on the 4K course, junior Jessica Kerzie (4th) clocking 16:22.00 and sophomore Abby Bloom (5th) running 16:29.00. Freshman Danielle Shaurette placed seventh overall with a time of 16:49.00. Junior Katie Wilson was impressive as well, coming in 11th, posting a 17:13.00.

Michele Milner and Katherine Warden of Gardner-Webb took the first and second place overall honors in the meet. Milner with a 15:21.00 and Warden a 14:45.00

For Head Coach Shaun Meinecke, this was his first victory in a dual meet. “I saw a lot of different things today concerning our team that I hadn’t seen yet,” said Meinecke. “The team is definitely coming together, we got a little spread out at first, but were able to bunch up and keep the other teams’ runners from getting in between ours. I was very pleased.”

The Eagles will have until next week to enjoy the victory, as they will travel to Greenville, S.C. to compete in the Furman Invitational on October 8th.

September 30, 2005 - Two Terrier women's cross country runners place in top 10

Despite two of its runners earning top-10 results, the Wofford women's cross country team finished fourth out of four teams Friday afternoon at the Gardner-Webb Invitational in Boiling Springs, N.C.

 

Sophomore Lauren Bosshardt was the top Terrier during the 4k meet finishing with a sixth-place time of 16:46.00. She was joined in the top 10 by freshman Justina Oliva, who placed ninth with a time of 16:55.00.

 

Fellow rookie Sarah Whitener was 19th (18:12.00), just ahead of a 20th-place time (18:20.00) by junior Mandy Mills.

 

Rounding out the Wofford runners was a 28th-place showing by sophomore Katie Isbell. Isbell completed the meet in a time of 19:08.00.

 

Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern won the meet with host Gardner-Webb having the top-two individuals.

 

The Terriers will conclude their regular-season competition October 15 at the Winthrop Fall Classic in Rock Hill, S.C.

 

September 30, 2005 - Appalachian Women Finish Fifth at Mountaineer Open

BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University’s women’s cross country team took fifth place in the Mountaineer Open on Friday, September 30 in Boone, NC.

The Mountaineers, using primarily reserve runners, placed fifth in the team competition with 113 points. Leading the Mountaineers was Emily Pomfrey, who crossed the line in 19th place overall with a time of 20:22.03 in the 5,000-meter race. Among other runners scoring for ASU, Michelle Galloway finished 23rd (20:37.61), Olivia Simeone came in 24th (20:45.64), Meghan Letts placed 25th (20:47.20), and Lauren Lierney was Appalachian’s fifth scorer in 28th place with a time of 21:03.14.

Virginia Tech claimed victory in the women’s team competition with a score of 17 points, placing all five scoring runners in the top-10. Tasmin Fanning claimed individual victory with a time of 18:03.98. Following Fanning were teammates Erin Reddan in second (18:33.46), Kristin Hart in third (18:49.65), Natalie Sherbak placing fifth (19:04.96), and Heather Fisher rounding out Virginia Tech’s top five, placing sixth overall (19:11.00).

Virginia Tech was followed by Milligan, East Tennessee State, Lenoir-Rhyne and Appalachian in the women's standings.

The Virginia Tech men’s cross country team claimed the team victory as well, placing six runners in the top-10 of the 4-mile race. Placing third, David Atkiss crossed the line with a time of 19:45.08. Following Atkiss, Paul Ahren placed fourth (19:56.23), James Scheiner came in fifth (20:07.92), Andrew Montgomery crossed the line in sixth (20:08.11), Rider Clauss finished eighth (20:20.15), and Ian Shreckengast rounded out the top-10 with a time of 20:29.81. David Berdan of ZAP Fitness claimed first place in the men’s race, crossing the finish line in 19:37.47.

East Tennessee took third in the men's race, followed by Milligan and Lenoir-Rhyne.

The Appalachian State’s men’s team and the rest of the women’s team will compete tomorrow in the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem Pa., at Lehigh University.

October 1, 2005 - Appalachian Men Finish 11th, Women 26th at Paul Short Run

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Senior Adam VanNortwick (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) placed 21st as the Appalachian State University men’s cross country team finished 11th Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Brooks Paul Short run hosted by Lehigh University. On the women’s side, the Mountaineers placed 26th, led by junior Kasey Smith’s (Walnut Cove, N.C.) 60th-place finish.

The No. 12-ranked Georgetown men took the team title with a team average time of 24:27.26. La Salle, Princeton, Auburn and Columbia rounded out the top-five in the 44-team event. Ryan Sheehan of Saint Francis won the event with a time of 23:53.

On the women’s side, No. 10 Columbia took first place with an average time of 21:12.7, followed by No. 24 Georgetown, No. 17 Tennessee, Maryland and Cornell in the top-five. Forty-seven women’s teams competed in the run. Elizabeth Maloy of Georgetown took the individual title, running the course in a time of 20:28.0.

VanNortwick ran the first mile in a time of 4:54 and kept a 4:55 pace throughout the race. He was followed by teammates Mark Maddox in 57th (24:51), Nathan Hernandez-Adams in 59th, Brendon Helms in 85th (25:11) and Brian Deal in 91st (25:14). Ryan O’Keefe (101st, 25:18) and Mike Mitchell (109th, 25:21) round out the ASU competitors.

Smith ran at a 5:52 pace throughout the race. She was followed by teammates Hannah Park in 109th (22:22.3) and Meghan Gaffney in 111th (22:22.0). Kala Robertson (176th, 23:03.1), Carla Bowlin (226th, 23:34.2), Anna Baker (227th, 23:34.2) and Christina Post (242nd, 23.44.2) round out the Appalachian competitors.

The Mountaineers return to action in two weeks, hosting the Blue Ridge Open and State Farm Run, Oct. 14 and 15 in Boone, N.C.

October 2, 2005 - UNCG cross country teams compete at Paul Short

 

BETHLEHEM, PA ?The UNC Greensboro men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the prestigious Paul Short Invitational on Saturday. The women’s team finished 44th among 47 teams, while the men’s team entered four individuals at the Goodman Course.

 

Jess Weber led the Spartans on the women’s side with a 156th place finish, recording a time of 22:52.2. Keith Gruchacz led UNCG on the men’s side with a time of 25:59.7, which was 183rd among 300 entries.

 

“This was a very competive meet and we had several breakthrough performances with all of the guys running personal best times,” said UNCG coach Rachelle Roberts. “The women ran a 6k for the first time this season and everyone benifited from getting up north and competing in the cooler conditions.”

 

UNCG will take part in the Blue Ridge Mountain Open on Friday October, 14 in Boone, NC.

 

Saturday, October 01, 2005 - Cross Country Women Finish Twelfth at Lehigh Invitational

BETHLEHEM, Pa. ? Davidson sophomore Brenna Burns’ 12th-place individual performance led the Wildcat women’s cross country team to a finish of 12th in a field of 47 squads on Saturday at the annual Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh.

Davidson finshed behind four top-30 teams, including 20th-ranked Columbia, who won the women’s college division. A two-time Southern Conference Runner of the Week, Burns turned in Davidson’s top 6K time of the day at 20:56. Senior Allie Martin came in 32nd overall, while sophomore Megal Atias posted a 47th-place finish.

“This is the strongest Lehigh Invitational in years with several nationally-ranked and regionally-ranked teams competing,” Davidson head coach Jen Straub said. “Brenna’s time was 23 seconds faster than last year’s 12th-place finisher. We keep making strides, and we’ll just continue to close the gap between our top three and the rest of our finishers.”

On the men’s side, Davidson raced to a result of 36th out of 44 teams. Freshman Lance Harden was the top Wildcat finsher with an 8K time of 25:42, good for 147th overall. Senior Jonathan Baker came in next at 156th, and classmate Austin Mercadante placed 192nd.

The Wildcat men and women race next at the Blue Ridge Mountain Open on Oct. 14 in Boone, N.C.