September 2, 2005 - ASU Cross Country Finishes Second and Fourth at Covered Bridge Open
BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State’s men’s and women’s cross country teams saw its first action of the season as the Mountaineers hosted nine other teams at the Covered Bridge Open in Boone, N.C. on Saturday, September 2. The ASU men’s squad finished second in a nine-team field while the women’s fourth out of nine squads.
In the men’s competition, Florida State clinched the team title with a score of 29, with all five scorers finishing in the top 20.
Leading the way for the Seminoles was senior Andrew Lemoncello who paced his way to an individual victory in a time of 25:41.62 on the 8-kilometer course. Following Lemoncello were teammates Sean Burris in second (25:48.63), Tom Lancashire finishing third (25:57.37), Phil Nichols placing fourth (25:58.37), and Marty Critzer finishing 19th as Florida State’s final scorer (26:58.93).
Only four points out of first place, the Appalachian men’s cross country team had a strong performance finishing in second place with a score of 33.
Crossing the line first for the Mountaineers and third overall was senior Adam Van Nortwick with a time of 25:53.83.
Appalachian had their four other scorers place in the top 10. Junior Mark Maddox finished sixth (26:01.02), junior Nathan Hernandez-Adams followed close behind in second (26:08.12), junior Brian Deal finished ninth (26.27.72). Junior Brendon Helms rounded out the top ten with a time of 26:30.62.
In addition, the Mountaineers placed three other runners in the top 20. Sophomore Ryan O’Keefe finished 14th (26:51.22), senior Mike Mitchell placed 15th (26:52.56), and sophomore Alex McWalters rounded out the top 20 with a time of 27:04.51.
On the women’s side, the Florida State Seminoles took the victory with a score of 38. Laura Bowerman claimed individual victory in a time of 18:17.44. The other four scorers for the Seminoles all placed in the top 15,with Jessica Crate in sixth place (19:02.84), Kirsten Hagan finishing 10th (19:17.64), Kara Newell placing 12th (19:26.58), and Lydia Willemse rounding out the Seminole scorers in 13th place with a time of 19:32.41.
Appalachian senior Casey Smith battled throughout the race crossing the finish line eighth with a time of 19:05.89, leading the Mountaineers to a fourth place team finish with a score of 92.
Other Appalachian athletes finishing in the top twenty included sophomore Meghan Gaffney in 15th place (19:45.66), and freshman Hannah Parks with a strong debut performance as a Mountaineer finishing 20th with a time of 20:13.80.
The ASU Men’s and Women’s Cross Country team return to action on September 16th at the ASU Open in Boone, N.C.
September 2, 2005 -
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston men's cross country team finished third, while the women placed fourth at the USC Invitational on Friday in Columbia. The 5K events were run at Owens Field.
"Our men had a great meet. For our first race, our guys gelled together very well and demonstrated good racing instincts for this early in the season," said Cougar coach Amy Schuckert. "It was nice to see how well our pack of three took control of the race up top for the team. As we continue to improve our fitness, I feel confident we'll have a much smaller gap between No. 4 through No. 7. Harrison Johnson did a great job as did freshmen Max Gustaitis and Aubrey Darnell. Newcomer John Young shows a lot of promise.
"We sat out two of our top seven on the women's side, but I saw several positives from our effort today. It's good to have Heather Clark running like we know she's capable of running. Wells Trompeter turned in a solid performance and Kristina Lanphear had a lifetime PR (personal record) at the very first meet of the season! We look forward to racing at home next weekend and having a full squad on the women's side."
Harrison Johnson, Max Gustaitis and Aubrey Darnell finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively for the Cougars.
Charleston women were paced by Heather Clark, who finished seventh, and Wells Trompeter who finished 15th.
September 2, 2005 ? Elon Cross Country Teams Run in Wake Forest Relays
WINTSON-SALEM, N.C.- The Elon University men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Wake Forest Relays on Friday evening, competing against Wake Forest, North Carolina and High Point. The team of Ricky Myers and John Tumbleston were the Elon men's top pairing while Alana Black and Anne Mae Flynn paced the women.
Myers and Tumbleston finished 12th in a field of 22 pairings with a time of 47:53. Jason MacCollum and Daniel Quinn placed 16th with a time of 49:15 and Eric Lewandowski and Adam Lindsey ran a time of 50:09 for an 18th-place finish. Adam Clontz and Justin Garren (19th/50:19) and Eric Garren and Jarred Adams (21st/52:26) rounded out the field for the Phoenix.
On the women's side, Black and Flynn finished 10th with a time of 38:29 in a field of 20. Tara Mulcahy and Amy Sulser finished 14th with a time of 39:51 while Katie White and Jessica Doan placed 15th with a time of 40:34. Alissa Wilke and Kelly Chencharik finished 18th (41:33) while Katelyn Ealer and Meghan Atkinson placed 19th (43:!6).
Elon returns to action on Friday, Sept. 9 at the Seahawk Invitational in Wilmington, N.C.
September 2, 2005 - WCU Cross Country Men Win South Carolina Invitational; Women Place Third
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Western Carolina men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2005 season strong with a team championship on the men's side and a third place showing for the women at the South Carolina Invitational Friday evening in Columbia, S.C. The men outran seven other teams, while the women were one of 10 in the field.
Junior transfer Dan Fassinger and senior Adam Puett paced the field for Western, placing first and second, crossing the stripe neck-and-neck with a time of 15:33 and 15:34, respectivelly, with the first time setting a course record. Sophomores Marcus Dunn and Brian McLean ran tenth and 11th, respectively, to give the Catamounts four of the top 11 in the field.
For the women, senior Deanna Kulesz had a strong start to her final season in the purple and gold, placing 12th overall with a time of 19:40. Sophomore Kerrie Savery and freshman Ann Wagner each performed well, posting top 18 finishes with times of 19:49 and 19:52, respectively.
"Both I and assistant coach Jesse Norman were pleased with both the outcome and the performance overall in our first meet of the season," said Western Carolina head coach Danny Williamson. "Coming in, we weren't as concerned with the individual performances as we were with the way the team grouped together in the field." He added, "It's great to start as strong as we did with team finishing order, but there's still room for improvement. We want to get better every day."
The Catamount cross country teams return to the Palmetto State next Saturday, Sept. 10 for a meet at Clemson. Both squads will be looking to improve on last season's two fourth-place finishes at the event. Puett placed fourth individually a year ago, while Kulesz led the women with a sixth-place showing.
September 2, 2005 - Burns' Runner-Up Finish Starts Davidson Cross Country Off on Right Foot
BOONE, N.C. ? Sophomore co-captain Brenna Burns came in second overall out of 98 runners in Davidson cross country’s season opener at the Covered Bridge Open on Friday. The Wildcats’ top performer on the day, Burns turned in a 5K time of 18:17.44, helping lead Davidson to a team finish of second place behind Florida State.
Davidson’s other co-captain, senior Allie Martin, crossed the finish line in seventh with a time of 19:03.29. She was followed by Wildcat freshman Caroline Sanker in 11th place, sophomore Megal Atias in 16th and sophomore Brittany Crawford in 19th.
With five finishers in the top 20 ? including two freshmen and two sophomores ? the Wildcats are off to a strong start in 2005. In the eight-team competition, Davidson came in ahead of Coastal Carolina (3rd), as well as host and Southern Conference rival Appalachian State (4th).
The youthful ’Cats get laced up to race again next Friday, Sept. 9, at the Lou Onesty Invitational, hosted by the University of Virginia.
September 3, 2005 - GSU Cross Country Team Places Fourth At Gamecock Invitational
COLUMBIA, S.C. - In their first meet of the 2005 season, the Georgia Southern Cross Country team earned an overall fourth place finish at the Gamecock Invitational, Friday evening (Sep. 2) in Columbia, South Carolina.
The separation between the third through sixth place teams was extremely close. The Eagles tallied a total score of 115 and placed just behind Southern Conference opponent Western Carolina (third overall), which scored 110, and just ahead of SoCon rivals College of Charleston and the Citadel, which finished with 116 and 117, respectively. Clemson University and host school South Carolina took the top two spots in the Invitational with scores of 45 and 47, respectively.
For the second consecutive year, senior Brittney Jett finished fifth out of all runners at the event, clocking a time of 19:11 in the 5K race. Freshman Danielle Shaurette followed Jett’s performance with a finishing time of 19:57 for 19th overall. Rounding out the top three Eagle finishes was sophomore Abby Bloom, who ran in 20:04 and placed 23rd. The Georgia Southern field was completed by juniors Jessica Kerzie (20:21) and Katie Wilson (22:03) and by freshman Molly Trendell (23:43) and sophomore Meggan Bien (27:54).
“This was a fun competition and we definitely learned some beneficial things”, said Head Coach Shaun Meinecke. “It turned out to be an extremely tight pack and I think we went out a little hard at the start of the race and the heat may have been a factor, but we’ll take that experience with us and come back after Labor Day to prepare for the next event.”
In all, 14 schools participated in the event, with nine Division I Women’s teams competing against one another. Georgia Southern’s next test will come Saturday, September 10th when the team travels to Macon to compete at Mercer University in the Mercer Atlanta XC.
September 3, 2005 - Terrier women's cross country competes in Charlotte
The Wofford women's cross country team began its 2005 campaign Saturday morning at the Charlotte Relay at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, N.C. The Terriers finished third out of the three teams in the event.
Junior Ryn Lister and sophomore Lauren Bosshardt paced the Wofford contingent with a ninth-place time of 24:39.2. Garnering a 12th-place time of 25:27.1 was senior Jaya Abraham and junior Mandy Mills.
Freshman Justina Oliva and senior Rachel Smithson earned a 13th-place finish with a time of 27:22.8, while sophomores Katie Isbell and Sarah Messamore placed 14th after crossing the finish line in 28:43.1.
Senior Corey Wilson and rookie Sarah Whitener finished 15th with a time of 29:16.2.
Host Charlotte won the team title, while the 49ers claimed four of the top-five individual times. Aja Jackson and Cassie Ficken paced the pack with a 21:13.8 time during the 3k event.
Wofford will continue its season Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Clemson Invitational in Clemson, S.C.
September 4, 2005 - The Citadel Men Finish Second as Women Take Sixth in Cross Country Season Opener
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Citadel men's cross country took second as the women finished sixth in the Bulldogs' season opener at the Gamecock Invite hosted by the University of South Carolina Friday evening. Junior Will Wilson and freshman Megan Jenkins led the Bulldog pack. Wilson placed third with a personal best 15:59 as Jenkins captured the third fastest 5k cross country time in Citadel history running 19:21 in her first collegiate race.
Sophomore Matt Holmes also had a top ten finish for the men as he placed seventh with a personal best 16:20. Holmes and Wilson each beat their previous mark by 17 seconds.
"Will and Matt did such a good job of racing smart and Will had a great kick at the end to pull away from three College of Charleston runners to finish in the third spot," said head coach Jody Huddleston.
Rounding out the top five for the Bulldogs were junior Marcus Butler (11th) sophomore Steven Craig (12th) and junior Charles Kutz who finished 13th. The men finished only 10 points behind Western Carolina, the closest the Dogs have come to the Wild Cats in 10 years.
"The men's team had a super race with personal best times ranging from 16 seconds to well over a minute," commented Huddleston. "Several team members took summer classes in Charleston and ran together all summer. The top six guys, including Robert Isaac, are seeing the results of running during the summer which is what we have tried to explain to them over the past few years."
The Bulldog women's team finished one point behind the College of Charleston and two points behind Georgia Southern. The women were led by two freshmen as Jenkins took fourth and Erin Ritter finished 20th overall with a time of 20:01. Junior Laura Hewston came in 25th with a time of 20:12.