Paul Short Run- Appalachian State Men’s Cross Country
Sept. 29 - BETHLEHEM, PA.- Competing in one of the largest races in the nation, the men’s cross country team proved their strength on Friday while running at the Paul Short Run. The Mountainees took home a sixth place finish, which was a huge leap from last year’s race when they placed 15th.
The sixth place finish overall was quite impressive on the 8k course, as the first five spots went to nationally ranked teams such as Villanova, Syracuse, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania and La Salle.
Appalachian had four runners place in the top 50 out of 268 total runners. The Mountaineers were carried by junior Asmeron Desta who grabbed the 26th spot. He was followed closely by teammate Phil Mitchell who came in 28th, with Brian Deal placing 35th and Josh Houser, 49th.
Next up for Appalachian cross country is the Gardner-Webb Invitational on Friday October 5 at 5 p.m.
Paul Short Run- Elon Men’s Cross Country Team
LEHIGH, Pa. ? Junior Eric Lewandowski placed 119th overall with a time of 26:02, leading Elon to a 32nd place finish at the Paul Short Invitational. The men’s race featured 41 teams of 443 total runners.
Senior Eric Garren finished second for Elon (157th overall) with a time of 26:21, and was followed closely by junior Rick Myers (26:23) who came in 162nd overall.
Freshman Matthew Richardson logged a time of 26:31, placing 175th, while Jason MacCollum was 214th with a time of 26:58. Rounding out Elon’s finishers were Andrew Hawkey (28:21/256th) and Andrew Garrison (30:04/270th) as the Phoenix tallied 827 points.
Inter Colonial Regional- UNCG Men’s Cross Country Team
Williamsburg, VA ? The men’s team, led by Ryan Rodd also took eighth place. On the men’s side, Ryan Rodd was UNCG’s top performer. The West Hartford, CT native, finished in 73rd place with a time of 27:04.60. Freshman Anthony Savoia was the next finisher for the Spartans finishing the 8K course with a time of 27:09.10, good for a 76th place finish.
The Citadel Invitational- College of Charleston Men’s Cross Country Team
The men’s and women’s cross country team finished sixth at the Citadel Invitational Saturday at James Island County Park. “I was pleased with the performances. We improved from last week with the men dropping times,” Head Coach Amy Schuckert said. “We can ask for anything more than PR (personal record) and several of the men achieved that.
The men’s team finished sixth behind Southern Conference members Davidson, Furman, and Western Carolina. Brad Meyer finished a team high seventh place with a team of 26:16.03. Luke Nelson clocked a 27:01.34 for a 26th place finish. Other runners for the Cougars were J.C. Koziel (27:21.62), Trevor Sprague (27:45.36), and Josh Shinoff (31:57.79). This was the second 8k that the men’s team has run this season.
The Citadel Invitational- The Citadel Men’s Cross Country Team
Brendan Kight set a personal record by almost 30 seconds, running 26:56 and placing 11th. Kight was the top finisher for The Citadel men for the third time in as many races this season. Kight’s time of 26:56 tops his previous personal best time of 27:23 set last year as a freshman.
Daniel Knight was the second finisher for the Bulldog men, placing 19th with a time of 27:19. Freshman Zach Yereb followed Knight with a 25th-place finish, running 27:41. Zach Johnson finished fourth for The Citadel and 32nd overall with a time of 27:55 while Nathan Jackson followed suit with a 33rd-place finish, running 28:05.
The Citadel Invitational- Davidson Men’s Cross Country Team
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? With three top-10 performances, led by a runner-up finish from senior team captain Sam Morris, the Davidson men's cross country team took top team honors at the Citadel Invitational on Saturday morning.
Morris placed second among the 68 Division I finishers and fifth overall in the field of 141 with a time of 26:08.52. He was joined by freshman Charlie Schmitt and junior Thad Sieracki in the top 10 among Division I finishers. Schmitt finished seventh (13th overall) with a time of 26:43.91, and Sieracki placed ninth (18th overall) with a time of 26:54.56.
Rounding out the scoring for the 'Cats, who amassed just 44 points, junior Alex Hoyt and freshman Josh Parkey finished in the top 15. Hoyt's time of 26:57.47 was good for 12th place (22nd overall), while Parkey finished 14th (25th overall) in a time of 26:59.32.
"Overall, I was very happy with how we raced today," head coach Gary Andrew said. "It was a positive step forward and a good morale booster and, as a result, puts us in the hunt for a top-three conference finish. Having said that, we must continue to improve and prove that we can race well consistently."
The Wildcats placed first of the nine teams in the Division I and ahead of all four SoCon teams, including Furman (2nd, 47 points), Western Carolina (3rd, 54), College of Charleston (4th, 86) and The Citadel (5th, 113).
The 'Cats will return to action on Oct. 13, when they travel Greenville, S.C. for the Furman Invitational.
The Citadel Invitational- Furman Men’s Cross Country Team
The men's team was equally successful, placing three athletes in the top 10 and earning a second-place finish, behind Davidson. Patrick Morgan paced the Paladins with a time of 25:24.31, coming in more than 30 seconds ahead of the no. 2 runner. Joseph Tenini finished sixth (26:31.87) and Michael Warner finished ninth (26:52.41) to round out the Paladins' top ten.
The Citadel Invitational- Western Carolina Men’s Cross Country Team
WCU's men put five runners inside the top 20 and finished behind Southern Conference members Davidson and Furman. Catamount freshman Stephon Roach finished fifth in the meet with a time of 26:29.49, while Stephen Hammond was two spots back in seventh with a time of 26:35.35. Jake Clawson ran 12th with a time of 26:57.02, followed by Jesse Ramirez (17th, 27:07.85) and Josh Walker (18th, 27:09.54).
Greater Louisville Classic- Chattanooga Men’s Cross Country Team
In the men’s race, Michael Mentz was the Mocs’ top finisher at the 24 spot finishing the 8K course in a time of 24:39.92. Chattanooga finished 10th out of 36 teams in the Gold Division and placed four runners in the top 65.
Freshman Chris Berry placed 38th at 24:59.45 followed immediately by David Moore just .18 seconds behind at 39th. Jeff Taylor was 64th for the Mocs in a time of 25:25.52 while Stuart Chandler rounded out the scoring for UTC at the 106 spot in a time of 25:54.72. Blake Ketron was 131st at 26:14.72 in the race featuring 310 runners.