Chattanooga men and women sweet the 2008 Great American Cross Country Festival
HOOVER, Ala. --- The Chattanooga cross country teams swept the competition at the 2008 Great American Cross Country Festival Saturday morning at Veterans Park in Hoover, Ala.
In the women’s race, Chattanooga took the top six spots including unattached runners as the Lady Mocs won the race with 17 points with South Alabama finishing second with 81 points.
Senior Sabrina Lefort ran the 5-kilometer course in a time of 18:55.0 to claim the top spot followed by teammates Tara Gietema (19:00.6) in second and Katie Williams (19:11.9) in third. Also scoring for the Lady Mocs was Emily Wood in fourth in scoring in a time of 19:30.0 and Meredith White in seventh at 19:49.0.
Chattanooga’s unattached runners Anneli Uys finished fourth overall in the race with a time of 19:27.5 and Shelley Taylor was sixth overall at 19:37.3.
North Alabama was third in the women’s race with 85 points while Birmingham Southern finished fourth with 105 points and Troy was fifth with 111 points.
The Mocs claimed the top spot in the men’s race led by sophomore transfer Emmanuel Kirwa in second at 25:28.6 in the 8-kilometer race. David Moore placed fourth for Chattanooga in a time of 26:18.1 and Joshue Vasquez was sixth in scoring at 26:32.5. Matt Baltimore was the fourth UTC runner in the top 10 placing ninth in a time of 26:59.7.
Kevin Huwe rounded out the scoring for the Mocs in 12th place with a time of 27:23.1. Blake Ketron was 21st with a time of 28:58.3 and Andy Highlander was right behind in 22nd place at 29:04.1.
Running unattached, Chris Berry was fourth overall with a time of 25:41.5 and Colton Popp was 25th overall at 28:45.9.
The Mocs took first with a score of 33 finishing ahead of South Alabama’s 52 points and Troy University’s 53. Birmingham Southern College was fourth overall with 99 points and North Alabama was fifth with 129 points.
Chattanooga will return to the Scenic City next week to host the annual Front Runner Invitational at the Moccasin Bend Race Course. The races are set to begin with the women’s 2-mile event at 3:30 p.m.
Furman men’s cross country take first, women second at Furman Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Furman men's cross country team took first at the 36th annual Furman Invitational, while the women earned a second-place victory on Saturday.
Leading the men's team was senior Patrick Morgan, who finished third in the race with a time of 26:38. Sophomore Charles McGoogan and freshman Zach Flickinger also came in the top ten, with McGToogan running a 27:15 and Flickinger covering the 8K course in 27:20.
The men finished first out of 17 teams with 36 points. The field included SoCon rivals Samford and College of Charleston.
In the women's race, junior Megan Lordi finished first in the 5K run with a career best time of 18:10, beating her previous career best by almost two and a half minutes. Freshmen Chloe Kowalski and Erin Barker also finished in the top ten for the Paladins, with times of 19:17 and 19:36, respectively.
The Paladin women finished second out of a field of 18 teams, with 47 total points. SoCon foe Samford claimed the first-place spot, while Furman finished ahead of College of Charleston.
The Paladins will compete again on October 18 at the Winthrop Invitational.
College of Charleston women finish third, men seventh at Furman Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? The College of Charleston cross-country program took part in the annual Furman Invitational on Saturday morning in Greenville, S.C.
Overall, the women’s team placed third out of 18 programs, while the men’s squad finished seventh out of 17 schools.
Individually for the women, Kristen Wolfe led the way, placing 13th after running the 5K course in 19:46, while sophomore Erin Stoddard finished 19th in a time of 19:59. Becky Stewart placed 37th in a time of 20:48, while freshman Callen Powers finished just behind Stewart in 39th with a time of 20:54.
Individually for the men, Trevor Sprague and Eric Robertson were the top finishers for the Cougars after both runners ran the 8K course in a time of 28:27 to finish 35th and 36th, respectively. Other top finishers included Timothy Faugl, who finished 55th in a time of 29:10 and Christian Bailey, who ran the course in 29:20 to finish 60th.
The Cougars will return to action on Friday, Oct. 17th when they compete at the Blue Ridge Open in Boone, N.C.
Select Wofford runners compete at Furman Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C.- The Wofford cross country teams had a select number or participants run in the 36annual Furman Invitational on Saturday in Greenville, S.C. Chris Allen represented Wofford on the men’s side while Pearce Tapp, Morgan Mickalis, Cindy Hernandez and Jessia Sahms represented the women.
Allen came in on the men’s side with a time of 34:32, averaging 6:57 a mile, to place in the 135th position. For the women, Tapp led the way with a time of 22:59 to place 81st. Following Tapp, Mickalis and Hernandez were next in for the Terriers with times of 22:59 and 23:22 to finish 84th and 91st, respectively. Sahms rounded out the Terrier Runners with a time of 23:49 placing in the 97th position.
This was in individual race for Wofford as neither team had the adequate amount of runner to calculate into the team scoring.
“With majority or our runners competing the past two weekends, I wanted to give them a rest. We have a big meet at Appalachian State next weekend we need to prepare for,” stated Coach Bryan Jackson. “This week was more of an individual training meet for those who ran, to give them an opportunity to compete and improve.
The men and women will be back in action Saturday at the Blue Ridge Open hosted by Appalachian State.
Wofford Individual Men
135. Chris Allen- 34:32
Wofford Individual Women
81. Pearce Tapp- 22:59
84. Morgan Mickalis- 22:59
91. Cindy Fernandez- 23:22
97. Jessie Sahms- 23:39
Top Five Individual Overall Men
1 Trevor Beasley: Unattached-26:00
2 Cameron Bean: Samford University-26:18
3 Patrick Morgan: Furman University-26:38
4 Eric Frohnaphel: Marshall university-26:56
5 Brad Orr: Unattached-27:02
Top Five Individual Overall Women
1 Megan Lordi: Furman University-18:10
2 Stephanie Place: Tennessee Tech-18:14
3 Amanda Davey: Unattached-18:37
4 Hillary Neal: Samford University-18:42
5 Emily Tangwar: USC Upstate-18:53
Samford women finish first, men second at Furman Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. --- The Samford cross country team had a successful day Saturday in a mix of Southern Conference competition at the Furman Invitational held at the Furman University Golf Course. The Samford women took first place in the 5K race while the men took second place just behind Furman on the 8K course.
"We really felt like the women's team ran a great team race today," Samford head coach Rod Tiffin said. "We rested some of our people, and to be able to do that was just a big accomplishment. Everyone just stepped and came to work today and we are just really happy about that."
Sophomore Hillary Neal was the top runner for the Bulldog women this week as she finished fourth in the women's race running a time 18:42. Two freshmen and a senior followed close behind as Andrea Seccafien (19:24), Deanna Zidar (19:30) and Katie Almand (19:32) took seventh, eighth and ninth places respectively. Junior Jessica Van Ausdall (19:53) and freshman Alli Keithan (19:55) came in 15th and 16th, respectively, followed by Cori Christensen (19:59) in 18th place. Junior Lauren Pilcher (20:17) and freshman Brittney Harrison (20:44) rounded out the Bulldog field at 27th and 35th places, respectively.
"Some of the ladies that we expected a lot out of really came forward and stepped it up today," Tiffin said. "Alli and Jessica ran great races for us today, and I'm really pleased with them. Of course, our front girls were right up there with them but it was really good to see Jessica and Alli step up."
Senior Bulldog Cameron Bean led the Samford men again on Saturday. He finished second for the men, running at time of 26:18 while junior Blaise Carie came in 10th, running a time of 27:25. Senior Michael Schwartz (27:41) grabbed 15th place followed by senior Bo Brawner (27:52) in 17th place. Scott Cope was fifth for the Bulldogs, coming in 22nd with a time of 28:06. Junior Patrick Ollinger (28:17) took 28th place, junior Chas Keithan (28:26) took 34th place, junior Will Denton (28:47) took 45th place, freshman George Mardre (29:04) took 53rd and freshman Justin Rogers (30:14) rounded out Bulldog men's field in 87th place.
"Cameron (Bean) did another fine job for us," Tiffin said. "Once again, the guys did a much better job of taking that big step toward to the conference championship which is what we've been working toward. I'm really excited about the next couple of weeks for us. We'll get ready for the conference meet and match up again and see where we are."
The Bulldogs will take a few weeks to prepare for the Southern Conference Championship which will be Nov. 1 in Spartanburg, S.C at Milliken Park.
Women's Results
1 Samford
4 Hillary Neal 18:42
7 Andrea Seccafien 19:24
8 Deanna Zidar 19:30
9 Katie Almand 19:32
15 Jessica Van Ausdall 19:53
16 Alli Keithan 19:55
18 Cori Christensen 19:59
27 Lauren Pilcher 20:17
35 Brittney Harrison 20:44
Men's Results
2 Samford
2 Cameron Bean 26:18
10 Blaise Carie 27:25
15 Michael Schwartz 27:41
17 Bo Brawner 27:52
22 Scott Cope 28:06
28 Patrick Ollinger 28:17
34 Chas Keithan 28:26
45 Will Denton 28:47
53 George Mardre 29:04
87 Justin Rogers 30:14
The Citadel women finish third, men fourth at Flrunners.com Invitational presented by Nike
Titusville, Fla. ? Five personal records were set Friday evening as The Citadel cross country program headed to the Sunshine State to compete in the FLrunners.com Invitational presented by Nike. The women’s team recorded a third place finish while the men’s team placed fourth.
Four men’s runners and one women’s runner set personal records in the meet while six other runners posted season-best times in the meet. The women’s team’s third place finish topped Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson’s performances and fell just short of the University of Miami, who finished second, and meet champion UCF.
The men’s fourth place finish also fell just short of the Hurricanes but the Bulldog men also topped Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson.
Junior Katheryn Gatewood continued her streak of leading The Citadel in every meet this season as she ran a season-best time of 19:29 to finish 14th. Junior Natalie Wolin ran her first sub-20:00 time this year, running 19:54 to place 20th. Senior Erin Ritter set a season-best mark and ran her fastest time since 2006 with a time of 20:24 to place 27th. Finishing third on the team, Ritter marked her best finish this season.
Senior Sarah Strickland placed 29th overall with a time of 20:29 while sophomore Suzanne Gay, who has had a stellar fall this season, set a new personal record with a time of 20:50 as she finished 36th.
On the men’s side, Brendan Kight fell five seconds short of tying his personal record as the junior from Sumter, S.C. placed eighth with a time of 26:53. That marked his first top-10 finish this season and his first sub-27:00 time this year.
Sophomore Zach Yereb ran a season-best time of 27:44 to finish 21st while redshirt junior Alex Anderson ran a personal-best time of 28:04 as he finished 27th. Sophomore Nathan Jackson placed 30th with a time of 28:17 while senior Zach Johnson ran a season-best time of 28:26 to place 32nd. P.J. Waslicha (35th, 28:38), Frank Dioguardi (38th, 28:48) and James Sanyi (43rd, 29:08) rounded out the men’s team, all setting personal record times.
The Citadel takes a week off before returning to action at the Winthrop Classic on Oct. 18 in Rock Hill, S.C. on the campus of Winthrop University. For complete coverage of Bulldog Cross Country, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at CitadelSports.com.