September 9, 2005 - Lady Mocs Second, Mocs Third at Home Opener
CHATTANOOGA, T.N. -- The Mocs took the top two spots in the men’s race of the UTC Cross Country Opener Friday night at Moccasin Bend while the women were second with top place individual finish.
Senior Shannon Wommack led all runners with a time of 10:45 in the two-mile event and senior Ellen Davis placed fifth at 11:30. Sabrina Lefort was the only other Lady Mocs to place in the top 10 at eighth place in a time of 11:58. Jamie Dinkins (12:17) and Suzanne Walker (12:30) finished 11 and 13 respectively to round out the top five UTC runners.
Samford placed all seven runners in the top 10 and won the race with 22 points over UTC’s 38. Middle Tennessee was third with 82 points, Covenant College had 122 points for fourth, Tennessee State was fifth with 141 and Bryan College had 167 points for sixth place.
In the men’s race, Ian Mayne and Colin Sullivan finished one-two to lead the Mocs, but it wasn’t enough as Chattanooga placed third behind Tennessee and Belmont. Mayne finished the 5K race in a time of 15:12 just ahead of Sullivan’s 15:16. Tennessee took the next three spots led by Dusty Miller at 15:20. Tyler DeVault (15:34) and Andy Baska (15:35) were one second apart at fourth and fifth.
Linas Salkauskas (18) was the third UTC runner to cross the line at 16:02 followed by transfer Michael Mentz (22) at 16:09 and freshman Kevin Huwe (23) at 16:13.
Tennessee took first with 31 points followed by Belmont with 48. Chattanooga totaled 66 points for third and the UTC Alumni led by Curtis Gadula in 11th, tied Samford with 120 points. Middle Tennessee (131) placed sixth, Covenant College (192) was seventh and Bryan (216) was eighth.
The Chattanooga runners will be on the road to compete in the Greater Louisville Classic on Sept. 24 in Louisville, Ky.
September 9, 2005 - Elon Harriers Finish Fifth at UNCW Seahawk Invitational
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- The Elon women's cross country team finished fifth in a seven-team field at the UNCW Seahawk Invitational on Friday afternoon, led by Anna Mae Flynn's ninth place individual finish.
Flynn covered the 5K course in 19:13.68 as Elon's top finisher. Alana Black (19:26.18 - 14th), Tara Mulcahy (19:36.78 - 16th), Amy Sulser (19:55.22 - 18th) and Jessica Doan (20:00.30 - 20th) all notched top-20 finishes for the Phoenix.
Kelly Chencharik (20:10.05 - 25th), Katelyn Ealer (20:15.64 - 29th), Alissa Wilke (20:20.46), Colleen McCarthy (20:55.83), Marisa Pinero (20:56.96), Alana Morro (21:10.95), Caroline Corbyons (21:43.17), Meghan Atkinson (22:41.89) and Casey Pike (22:57.04) all also competed for Elon.
Delaware took home the team title, posting a total time of 1:36:43.38. East Carolina (1:37:09.58), Georgia State (1:37:53.29) and UNC Wilmington (1:36:40.60) all also bested Elon's 1:38:12.16. The Phoenix finished ahead of Winston-Salem State (2:03:02.07) and Mount Olive (2:04:56.75).
The women will run again on Sept. 16 at the Southeastern Collegiate Invite at Tanglewood Park.
September 10, 2005 -
College of Charleston freshmen Kate Hedley and Aubrey Darnell paced the Cougars with a pair of third place finishes in the 2005 College of Charleston Invitational Cross Country 5K meets held at Dixie Plantation Saturday morning. Hilary White of Savannah College of Art & Design won the women's event, while The Citadel's Will Wilson claimed the men's title.
White, senior, used a time of 18:04 to literally run-away with the event finishing more over a minute faster than runner-up Casey Gale of Charleston Southern who ran the event in 19:26. Erin Ritter (4th, 19:56) was the top runner for The Citadel.
In the women's event, Hedley had a time of 19:44, while teammates Heather Clark (20:03) and Wells Trompeter (20:06) earned a fifth and sixth place finish, respectively for the host Cougars.
In the men's event, Wilson won the event with a time of 16:05 while teammate Matt Holmes placed second with a time of 16:16.
Charleston's Harrison Johnson placed fourth and Maz Gustaitis finished fifth with times of 16:27 and 16:34, respectively.
Samuel Henry (16:44) was the top finisher for Savannah State finishing seventh. Robert Broadbent (9th, 16:53) was the top runner for Savannah College of Art & Design. Jonathan Horton (20th, 17:45) was the top runner for Charleston Southern.
September 10, 2005 - Burns, Martin Lead Davidson Cross Country to Third-Place Finish at UVA
EARLYSVILLE, V.A. ? In Davidson’s second cross country meet of the season, sophomore Brenna Burns turned in an impressive runner-up performance while senior Allie Martin came in fifth to lead the Wildcats to a team finish of third at the University of Virginia’s Lou Onesty Invitational on Saturday morning.
Of eight teams, #25 Virginia won the women’s competition with 40 points ahead of William & Mary (61), Davidson (81) and Richmond (90) in the top four. Cavalier Emily Harrison crossed the finish line first with a 5K time of 17:44.23.
Burns, who claimed second place overall at last weekend’s Covered Bridge Open, earning TIAA-CREF Student-Athlete of the Week honors, paced the ’Cats with a time of 17:56.34. Martin posted an 18:16.53. Rounding out the top five Davidson finishers were sophomore Megal Atias in 29th, and freshmen Caroline Sanker in 31st and Emily King in 38th.
“I’m very proud of my team,” Wildcat head coach Jen Straub said. “It was an amazing show up front. Our team showed great composure in the lead running. We just need to continue to work on closing the gap between our top finishers and the next few. We’re running with nationally-ranked teams and holding our own, so I’m very pleased.”
The Wildcat women get a breather before heading to Bethlehem, Pa., for the Lehigh Invitational on Oct. 1.
September 10, 2005 - GSU Cross Country Places Fifth at Mercer Invitational
ATLANTA, G.A. - The Eagle cross country team battled a crowded field and difficult course over the weekend to take fifth overall at the Mercer-Atlanta XC Invitational Saturday morning, (Sep. 10).
The race, run at Mercer’s Atlanta campus, saw 119 total competitors on the women’s side compete in a 4K run. Although shorter than the normal 5K run, the course was compensated by the degree of hills that existed on it.
“This will probably be the toughest course we’ll run all season,” Head Coach Shaun Meinecke said. “It was very hilly, especially at the end, and I know that affected our runners.”
Individually, senior Brittney Jett was the first Eagle to cross the finish line and fourteenth overall with a time of 13:59. Sophomore Abby Bloom finished 24th overall with a time of 14:28 and junior Jessica Kerzie and freshman Danielle Shaurette finished within a few hundredths of a second from one another to take the 28th and 29th spots overall, both posting a 14:36.
Of the 15 women’s teams that competed, Georgia Tech finished first with a score of 35, followed by Kennesaw State which scored a 39. Host school Mercer placed third with a 110 and the University of West Georgia posted a 123 for fourth. Georgia Southern was not far behind that with a 125 total score.
Georgia Southern will have close to three weeks to prepare for their next competition, the Gardner-Webb Duals in Boiling Springs, N.C. on Friday, September 30.
September 11, 2005 - Wilson, Ritter Lead Bulldogs at College of Charleston Invitational
HOLLYWOOD, S.C. - The Citadel competed in the College of Charleston Invitational Cross Country 5K meets held at the Dixie Plantation Saturday morning. Junior Will Wilson claimed the men's title running a 16:05 and freshman Erin Ritter led the women placing fourth in a time of 19:56.
In the dual meet format, the men were led by a one-two finish in each race by Wilson and junior Matt Holmes finishing second in 16:16. Rounding out the top five for the Bulldogs were Charles Kutz (16:41), Marcus Butler (16:51) and Robert Isaac (16:53), all finishing in the top ten.
"The men's team did a super job of staying together in the first mile," said head coach Jody Huddleston. "They really helped one another as our top five ran within one minute of each other."
Junior Laura Hewston finished close behind Ritter taking the number seven spot with a time of 20:10. Freshman Megan Jenkins solidified eighth with a 20:12 as freshman Sarah Strickland (21:00) and junior Amanda Rawl (22:00) rounded out the top five.
"The women continue to improve although most of the team was sick this past week," commented Huddleston. "We are looking forward to getting two more weeks of training under our belt before we host The Citadel Invitational."
The Bulldogs have next weekend off as they get ready to host The Citadel Invitational on Saturday, September 24 at James Island Country Park. About 15 colleges and 25 high schools are expected to compete in the event with the first race starting at 9:00 am.
September 11, 2005 - Furman Men, Women Place Fifth at Clemson Cross Country Invitational
CLEMSON, S.C. - The Furman men's and women's cross country teams placed fifth at the season opening Clemson Invitational in Clemson, S.C., Saturday.
Sam Robinson paced the Paladins with a time of 25:11 in the 8K event. He was followed by teammates Eric Albrecht (26:01) and Tyler Johnson (26:18). Johnson, a senior, placed second at last season's Southern Conference Championships to earn all-league honors.
Sophomore Page Bridges led the Lady Paladins in the women's 5K race with a time of 19:15. Senior Katie Poole (19:20) and sophomore Mo Campbell (19:21) rounded out the Lady Paladins' top three performances in the season opener.
Clemson claimed the the team title in the 11-team men's 8K. Charlotte, Georgia, Western Carolina and Furman completed the top five. The Georgia Bulldogs won the 5K followed by Charlotte, Clemson, South Carolina and Furman.
The Paladins and Lady Paladins travel to Conway, S.C., to participate in the Coastal Carolina Invitational next Saturday morning.
September 12, 2005 - Abraham's personal best highlights women's cross country
Senior Jaya Abraham ran to a personal-best time to highlight the Wofford women's cross country performances last Saturday at the Clemson Invitational in Clemson, S.C.
Abraham finished as the second Terrier with a time of 20:50 and 68th-place result. Sophomore Lauren Bosshardt paced the Wofford pack with a 61st-place time of 20:37.
Also factoring into the team score was Ryn Lister with an 82nd-place time of 21:34, Rachel Smithson with a time of 22:17 to earn 92nd place and Mandy Mills in 97th place with a time of 22:36.
Other Terriers in the meet included consecutive-place finishes by Katie Isbell and Justina Oliva. Isbell posted her top time in a Wofford uniform by running to a time of 23:01 to place 103rd, while Oliva earned an 104th-place time of 23:07.
Corey Wilson posted an 107th-place result (23:39), Sarah Messamore placed 110th (24:23) and Sara Whitener garnered an 112th-place time of 24:53.
"Our team work continued to be positive," said head coach Andrea Stehman. "We are about three weeks ahead of where we were this time last year in terms of our workouts and splits."
Georgia captured the team title with 26 points, while Charlotte's Cassie Ficken ran to a time of 17:36 to claim the individual honor.
The Terriers will next compete Saturday at the Winthrop/Asics Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C.