Chattanooga's Shannon Wommack Wins NCAA South Region Title
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Shannon Wommack was the favorite to win the 2005 NCAA South Region Cross Country race Saturday and she didn't let her supporters down as the Chattanooga senior was the lone female runner to finish under 20 minutes in the 2005 region race hosted by the University of Florida.
"Shannon's been ranked No. 1 in the region all year," UTC head coach Bill Gautier said. "I wasn't surprised that she won, we all expected her to, but when you're expected to win and you do, that's doing your job."
Wommack, from, Conyers, Ga., earned All-America honors last year at the NCAA Championships, is a three-time Southern Conference champion and four-time All-SoCon. She will advance to her fourth NCAA National Finals.
She ran side-by-side with the 2004 Region and three-time SEC champ Angela Homan, but pulled away to win the 6K race in a time of 19:50.16. Wommack finished second to Homan in last year's race, but came back to win the Auburn Invitational earlier this year and finish ahead of her by more than 30 seconds at the Indian Pines Golf Course.
"The loud speakers were calling the race, announcing them as they ran together, but Shannon finally just pulled away," Gautier said.
The women placed sixth in the region with senior Ellen Davis finishing 27th (21:58.61). The Ringgold, Ga., senior just missed All-Region honors by two places. Katie Williams was 41st (22:20.78), sophomore Sabrina Lefort was 58th (22:46.19) and Suzanne Walker was 71th (23:02.91). Ashley Meagher, former defender on the Lady Mocs' soccer team, finished 115th (24:03.10) in
her first NCAA Region meet.
The Lady Mocs finished ahead of Samford, who beat UTC earlier this year, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State and Memphis. The race fielded 171 runners from 24 teams in the NCAA South Region.
In the men's race, Ian Mayne will have to wait until to find out if he will advance to the NCAA Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., Nov. 21st at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.
The senior out of Pickering, Ontario, placed eighth overall in the men's 10K race in a time of 30:35.18, earning All-South Region honors and led the Mocs to an eighth place finish.
"Ian ran an awesome race," Gautier said. "I haven't been that emotional about one of my runners in some time. He ran with those guys and put his heart into it."
Jeff Taylor, from Cleveland, Tenn., finished 66th in the 2004 regional and improved dramatically in just one year to be named All-South Region with a 21st place finish at 31:18.84.
"These guys ran with the best runners in the South, maybe the country, and had a great race," Gautier said.
Transfer Michael Mentz was 58th (33:01.17), Linas Salkauskas was 78th (33:38.13) and fresman Kevin Huwe rounded out the scoring at the 82 spot in a time of 33:49.75. One-hundred and forty runners participated in the race from 20 schools around the South Region.
Missing from the 2005 team was senior Colin Sullivan who suffered an injury that kept him out of competition for most of the year. He along with Wommack, Davis and Mayne completed five years of running with the Mocs.
"They all ran together for five years," Gautier said. "I'm so proud of all of them. Every year they have each gotten better. They are all excellent athletes and even better students with high GPA's. Colin couldn't run today, but he was here cheering on his teammates, especially Ian."
Four Paladin Runners Compete At NCAA Southeast Regionals
Greenville, N.C. ? Furman’s Tyler Johnson, Sam Robinson, Eric Albrecht and Andrew Mullen each participated in Saturday’s NCAA Cross Country Southeast Regionals At East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C.
Johnson, a senior, posted the best time of the four Paladins by placing 39th with a time of 31:24.1 on the 10K course.
The Knoxville, Tenn., native earned All-Southern Conference honors last month with a top ten finish at the SoCon Championships.
Sam Robinson scored a 103rd place finish in 32:35.5 while Eric Albrecht placed 124th in 32:52.2. Mullen rounded out the Paladin results finishing 163rd in 34:06.7.
William and Mary claimed team honors while Josh McDougal of Liberty University grabbed first place in 29:40.1.
Davidson Women Finish 11th, Men 20th, at NCAA Cross Country Regionals
GREENVILLE, N.C. ? The women's and men's cross country team finished 11th and 20th respectively at the NCAA regionals held at Lake Kristi on Saturday, Nov. 12. The women's team was six spots off from advancing to the NCAA National Championships.
William & Mary men's team knocked off defending champion N.C. State, while on the women's side, the Duke women defended its title of the NCAA Southeast Regional Cross Country Championships with a victory over ACC rivals N.C.
State and Virginia. Both teams earn automatic bids to the NCAA National Championships held at Indiana State University on Nov. 21.
Pacing the Wildcat men was senior Jonathan Baker (Novelty, Ohio), who ended his cross country career with a time of 32:17 in the 10k run. His time was good for 83rd place. Also finishing in the top 100 was SoCon Freshman of the Year, Lance Harden (Apex, N.C.), with a time of 32:32.6.
Senior Austin Mercadante (Winter Park, Fla.) finished his cross country career with a time of 33:31, good for third best on the team.
For the women, who won the SoCon Championship and recently earned its highest regional ranking ever, ninth, were led by sophomore Brenna Burns (Weaverville, N.C.) with a time of 21:13. Burns, the September Runner of the Month and a SoCon Runner of Week four times, finished 27th overall with her team-best time.
Three other Wildcat runners placed in the top 100 with senior Allie Martin (Orlando, Fla.), running in her final cross country meet, earning a 52nd place with a time of 21:53. Freshman Caroline Sanker (Rocky River, Ohio) had the third-best time on the team at 22:16, good for 73rd.
Rounding out the top 100 for Davidson was freshman Emily King (Honolulu, Hawai'i) at 82nd place with a time of 22:30.
Take top individual honors for the men was Josh McDougal of Liberty. For the women, it was Duke's Shannon Rowbury followed closely behind by teammate Clara Horowitz.
College of Charleston Competes in NCAA Regional
The College of Charleston men's and women's cross country team each finished 28th overall at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship hosted by East Carolina on Saturday.
Harrison Johnson had the highest finish individually for the men as he finished with a time of 33:21.4. Aubrey Darnell was the next highest finisher for Charleston as he earned a time of 34:03.5. CofC also had Micheal Rella (34:10.5), John Young (34:47.8), Ben Sherard (36:15.8), and George Tozar (36:59.1) compete in the event.
Wells Trompeter finished with the best time for the women as she recorded a time of 23:24.7. Heather Clark was second on the team with a time of 24:19.3 with Kat Shareshian finishing with a time of 24:34.2. Jennifer Dooley (25:05.2), Elizabeth Rose (25:22.8), and Kristina Lanphear (26:56.9) also ran for the Couagars.
The William & Mary men's team knocked off defending champion N.C. State to capture the championship held at Lake Kristi on Saturday. With the victory, William & Mary earns an automatic bid to the national championships which is held at Indiana State University on November 21.
Liberty sophomore Josh McDougal torched the competition to claim consecutive individual titles in the event, in a record-setting pace of 29:40. He improved the previous time of 30:06, under the exact layout of the 10k course from a year ago. Following McDougal were Jacob Korir, Eastern Kentucky (29:49) and Ian Fitzgerald, William & Mary (30:04).
The Duke women's team successfully defended its title of the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship with a victory over ACC rivals N.C. State and Virginia. In the process the victorious Blue Devils earn an automatic bid to the national championships which is also held at Indiana State University on November 21.
The Blue Devils Shannon Rowbury (19:55) laid claimed to the individual title of the 6k course, while teammate Clara Horowitz (19:59) finished second, as both qualify for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute. N.C. State's Jemissa Hess rounded out the top three at a pace of 20:08.
Mountaineers Conclude Season at NCAA Regional Championships
GREENVILLE, N.C. ? Senior Adam Van Nortwick (Lake Saranac, N.Y.) finished 11th and junior Kasey Smith (Walnut Cove, N.C.) placed 39th to lead their respective teams, as Appalachian State University’s men’s cross country team finished 11th and the women’s team placed 15th Saturday at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships.
William and Mary’s men’s team took home the team title with 68 points, followed by Virginia (91), N.C. State (96), Duke (198) and James Madison (204). The Mountaineers just missed the top 10, finishing 10 points behind Clemson with 289.
The Duke women took home the team title, with the top-two finishers and 33 points. N.C. State (78), Virginia (149), Wake Forest (151) and William and Mary (180) rounded out the top-five.
Van Nortwick ran the 10k in a time of 30:28.9. With his 13th-place finish, Van Nortwick recorded ASU’s best finish by a male at the NCAA Regionals. The senior also earned all-region honors making him the first men’s runner since 1997 to earn the honors.
The Mountaineer men entered the regional championships ranked 10th in the region after winning the Southern Conference Championship Oct. 31. Brian Deal had the second-highest finish for ASU at 48th with a time of 31:44.2. Mark Maddox (67th, 32:02.3), Mike Mitchell (82nd, 32:16.5), Nathan Hernandez-Adams (85th, 32:19.1), Ryan O’Keefe (107th, 32:38.4) and Brendon Helms (117th, 32:46.4) rounded out the Mountaineer men’s competitors.
Smith finished the 6k in a time of 21:31.8. Meg Gaffney (67th, 22:11.8), Hannah Parks (85th, 22:34.9), Christine Post (107th, 22:53.5), Kala Robertson (124th, 23:18.8), Noel Smith (141st, 23:42.1) and Carla Bowlin (174th, 24:26.7) rounded out the Appalachian women competitors.
Many of the men’s and women’s cross country runners will return to action with the indoor track and field team, Dec. 4 at the Appalachian Invitational in Boone.
Catamount Cross Country Competes at NCAA Southeast Regionals
Adam Puett records top 50 run; Kerrie Savery leads women with WCU 4th-best, 6-K time
Cullowhee, N.C. - Senior Adam Puett recorded a top 50 finish while sophomore Kerrie Savery and senior Deanna Kulesz turned in two of the top seven times in school history as the Western Carolina Catamount cross country teams ran at the NCAA Southeast Regional Saturday afternoon at Lake Kristi in Greenville, N.C.
On the men’s side, Josh McDougal of Liberty won the regional event, snapping the tape in 29:40. William & Mary had all five scored runners place inside the to 21 to win the team event. For the women, led by Shannon Rowbury’s individual championship, navigating the course in 19:55 to edge teammate Clara Horowitz (19:59), Duke claimed the regional team championship.
Puett led the Catamount men with a 46th-place showing, recording the sixth-best, 10-K time in Western Carolina’s men’s cross country history. His time of 31:38 was two seconds in arrears of his nearest competitor. Junior Dan Fassinger was the second-highest finisher for the Catamounts, tripping the line inside the top-100 in 97th with a time of 32:30. The Snellville, Ga., native recorded the 18th-best time ever at WCU on Saturday.
Rounding out the scoring for the Catamounts was Marcus Dunn in 144th (33.25.8), Jesse Ramirez in 196th (35:59.6), and Dylan Hermelee in 202nd (36:41.9). As a team, Western finished 22nd out of the 30 regional squads at the meet.
Savery and Kulesz ran the fourth and seventh quickest 6-K times in Western women’s history, respectively. Savery placed 131st with a time of 23:26.1 on Saturday, while Kulesz ran 23:45.5 for a finish of 142. Classmates Ann Wagner and Jenna Hester ran together at their first NCAA regional event, placing 175 and 177 with times four seconds apart at 24:27 and 24:31. Wagner’s mark was 11th on the WCU all-time, 6-K time charts, with Hester’s time ranking 12th. Rounding out WCU’s runners was Elizabeth Prevette, with a time of 26:08.0.
NCAA Regional Brings Cross Country Season to Close for Eagles
Gainesville, FL - Four runners from the Georgia Southern Cross Country team finished out the 2005 season on Saturday, (Nov. 12th) by competing in the South Region of the NCAA Division I Cross Country Regionals.
Senior Brittney Jett, junior Jessica Kerzie, sophomore Abby Bloom and freshman Danielle Shaurette battled over 170 runners from more than 24 schools in the South Region, hosted by the University of Florida.
Competing just a few miles from her hometown of High Springs, Fla., Brittney Jett completed the 6K run in 23:51.80, for 114th overall. For the first time this season, however, Jett was not the first Eagle to cross the finish line. Abby Bloom ran a spectacular race to finish just ahead of Jett with a time of 23:36.16, good for 102nd overall. Jessica Kerzie followed in at 24:46.87 for 145th overall and Danielle Shaurette ran in 25:13.08 for 156th.
“This is the way we wanted to end the season,” said Head Coach Shaun Meinecke. “The way we ran this race is the way we should have run at the Conference Championships. Brittney ran exactly as I expected she would, Abby was just really impressive today. This being Brittney’s final run, (as a cross country runner) it kind of seemed like this was the passing of the torch.”
Southern Conference women’s champion and Runner of the Year, Shannon Wommack of UTC took first overall in the Regional with a time of 19:50.16. She was the only runner to break the 20 minute mark. Angela Homan of Auburn finished second and Lauren Blankenship of Samford came in third.
The University of Tennessee scored 76 points overall to take top team honors in the Regional, with the University of Georgia placing second with 98 points and Florida State University in at third with 118 points.
Nine different universities across the country played host to the NCAA Regionals, in which top finishers earn the chance to travel to Terre Haute, Indiana to compete in the NCAA finals, scheduled for November 21, 2005.
November 14, 2005 - Wofford women's cross country concludes season
The Wofford women's cross country program completed its first season under head coach Andrea Stehman by sending three runners to the NCAA Southeast Regional Meet last Saturday in Greenville, N.C.
Each of the three competitors registered a career-best 6k time, while two posted their top splits during the first 5k portion of the race.
"The focus was to see what is in store for our future," said Stehman. "It was all about individual effort."
Recording a time of 24:08.3 was sophomore Lauren Bosshardt in 158th place.
Senior Jaya Abraham, competing in her final collegiate event, finished 178th with a time of 24:33.6.
Also posting a time of 25:15.2 in 192nd place was junior Ryn Lister.
No team score was registered due to just three runners representing the Terriers.