Davidson Men Place Second at Blue Ridge Open
BOONE, N.C. - The Davidson men's cross country team turned in yet another strong showing, narrowly getting edged by High Point, 76-77 to place second in the Blue Ridge Mountain Open, hosted by Appalachian State on Friday afternoon. Davidson's Lance Harden and Ryan Hopkins were the top finishers in team scoring.
Harden placed fourth overall in 25 minutes, 2 seconds. Ryan Hopkins was not far behind, placing sixth overall in 25:13.
"We ran a very good race today," said head coach Gary Andrew. "We have more work to do though in the next couple weeks before the SoCon Championships, and then we'll see who's the best on that day."
Ranked 13th in the Southeast by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association, Davidson bested Southern Conference rival Appalachian State (No. 11 Southeast) by six points, as the host Mountaineers placed third with 83 points. Coastal Carolina (159) and Wake Forest (166) rounded out the top five. Clemson (No. 15 Southeast) was seventh (206) and was followed by Southern Conference members Elon (eighth, 212), Western Carolina (ninth, 235), College of Charleston (10th, 286) and UNC Greensboro (18th, 540).
Senior Tom Divinnie placed 18th in 25:41 as Davidson's third finisher. Classmate Peter Bruton (31st, 26:05) and sophomore Ian Tupper (44th, 26:14) rounded out Davidson's scoring group. Senior Thad Sieracki (26:16) and freshman Demetrios Pagonis (26:40) were the Wildcats' sixth and seventh finishers.
The meet was the final tune-up before the Southern Conference Championships, hosted by Elon on Saturday, Oct. 31.
Appalachian State Men Finish Third at Blue Ridge Open
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State men's cross country placed third out of 19 teams at the Blue Ridge Open held Friday at the Don Kennedy Trail at State Farm.
High Point University, with two runners in the top ten including seventh place finsher Neal Darmody (25:15.25), narrowly outdistanced Davidson and ASU to take home first place.
The Mountaineers were led by sophomore Sean Soderman who finished tenth overall with a time of 25:28.42 on the 8k course. Senior Josh Houser was the next highest finisher for the Apps, posting time of 25:35.71 which placed 13th overall. Freshman Burk Staub placed 24th with a time of 25:51.59, and senior Mike Walker came in 29th with a time of 26:00.39.
Appalachian will have two weeks off before traveling to Elon, N.C. to compete for their fifth consecutive SoCon title.
Appalachian State Women Place Fourth at Blue Ridge Open
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State women's cross country placed fourth out of 15 teams at the Blue Ridge Open held Friday at the Don Kennedy Trail at State Farm.
Duke University, with five runners in the top seven including overall winner Carly Seymour (17:18.07), easily outdistanced Virginia Tech and UNC-Wilmington to take home first place.
The Mountaineers were led by freshman Brittney Caudle who finished fourth overall with a season best time of 17:40.38 on the 5k course. Caudle also established a new school record for a freshman in the 5k, topping Mary Jayne Harrelson's mark set in 1996. Junior Dani Reese was the next highest finisher for the Apps, posting a new personal best time of 19:13.37 which placed 38th overall. Junior Amy Neilson placed 51st with a time of 19:28.01, and sophomore Stephanie Chapman came in 52nd with a time of 19:28.44.
Appalachian will have two weeks off before traveling to Elon, N.C. to compete in the SoCon Championships October 31.
Western Carolina Women Finish Seventh, Men Ninth, at Blue Ridge Open
Boone, N.C. - The Western Carolina women's cross country team placed seventh in the 5K and the men ninth in the 8K in their final regular season tune-up at the Blue Ridge Open on Friday afternoon at Appalachian State University.
Senior Lindsay Groce led the Catamount women with a time of 19:11.13, while Josey Weaver's mark of 25:36.81 set the pace for the men.
The women placed seventh with 180 total points for an average time of 19:28.99. Duke University led the field of 15 with a mark of 17:43.16 for 18 total points as five out of first six runners were Blue Devils.
Groce, a native of Wilkesboro, N.C., placed in 34th for her first top finish for Western Carolina this season. Freshman Mara Smith (19:20.18, 45th), junior Jordan Gaddy (19:31.27, 54th) and senior Danielle Shaurette (19:36.79, 60th) all finished inside the top-60 of the 130-plus participant field.
Olivia Jacobs (19:45.55, 66th), Adrian Cooke (20:01.82, 85th), Morgan Turner (20:09.88, 90th) and Leslie Raymond (20:54.98, 111th) rounded out the running order for Western Carolina.
The men placed ninth out of 15 teams with a time of 26:37.08 for 235 team points. High Point University took home the team title with an average time of 25:41.76 for 76 points.
Weaver, a sophomore from Weaverville, N.C., collected his third top finish for Western Carolina this season for 16th place overall. Senior Stephen Hammond quickly trailed behind with a mark of 25:48.89 for 21st in the event.
Freshman Nolan Clark (26:10.73, 41st), junior Drew Tucker (27:30.72, 105th), freshman Garrett West (27:58.24, 117th) finished up the other half for the Catamounts. Tyler Dunn (28:09.45, 125th) and Jake Clawson (28:19.74, 129th) rounded out the points for the Cats.
The Catamounts will begin postseason competition at the Southern Conference Championships hosted by Elon University on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 10:00 a.m.
College of Charleston Men Place 10th, Women 11th, at Blue Ridge Open
BOONE, N.C. - The College of Charleston men's and women's cross country teams ran one last race before the Southern Conference Championships on Oct. 31. The men placed 10th out of 19 teams, while the women posted an 11th place finish.
"We definitely had some bright spots today but the race also helped us see where we can improve," said head coach Amy Seago. "We know what we need to do to move up in the conference."
Junior Trevor Sprague (Dunwoody, Ga./St. Pius X Catholic) led the Charleston men with a time of 25:50.42, finishing 17th among collegiate runners. Sophomore Christian Bailey (Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell) also posted a top-50 finish for the Cougars, running the 8K race in 26:21.00 for 43rd place. Lance Harden of Davidson College led all collegiate runners with a time of 25:01.79.
Sophomore Kristen Wolfe (Midlothian, Va./James River) paced the Cougar women with a time of 19:25.34 to finish 33rd collegiately. Junior Becky Stewart's (Manassas, Va./Brentsville) 58th-place finish was second among CofC women. Appalachian State freshman Brittney Caudle was the first member of the Southern Conference to cross the finish line. Her time of 17:40.38 put her in third place among college runners.
Elon Women Finish Sixth at Blue Ridge Open
BOONE, N.C. - The Elon women's cross country team finished sixth out of a field of 15 teams at the Blue Ridge Open in Boone, N.C. Duke took home the title, followed by Virginia Tech, UNC Wilmington, Appalachian State and VMI. Elon finished ahead of Southern Conference foes Western Carolina and College of Charleston.
Pacing the Phoenix was Emily Fournier with a time of 18:43.63 and a 21st-place finish. Caitlin Beeler and Morgan Denecke rounded out the top-50 finishers for Elon, crossing the line 40th and 41st with times of 19:14.43 and 19:14.82.
Sullivan Parkes came in 59th with a time of 19:36.34, followed by Jacqueline Alnes with a 61st-place finish and a time of 19:41.70.
Catherine Rossi recorded a time of 20:30.29 to round out the field for Elon.
Elon will be back in action on October 31 when it hosts the Southern Conference Championship. Full coverage of the meet will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.
Elon Men Place Eighth at Blue Ridge Open
BOONE, N.C. - Matt Richardson ran a 25:59.03 for a 28th-place finish to lead the Elon men's cross country team to an eighth-place finish at the Blue Ridge Open, hosted by Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., on Friday afternoon. Elon finished ahead of Southern Conference rivals Western Carolina, College of Charleston and UNC Greensboro. High Point finished first out of the field of 19 teams.
Justin Gianni was Elon's second finisher and clocked a 26:08.61 for a 38th-place finish, followed by Connor Mercurio, who finished 49th with a time of 26:18.15. Will Schefer crossed the line in 26:37.08 for a 65th-place finish.
Also competing for the Phoenix were Ranley Gousse (26:59.96) and Clay Sankey (27:05.03).
Elon will return to action on October 31 when it hosts the Southern Conference Championship. Full coverage of the meet will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.
UNC Greensboro Runners Compete at Blue Ridge Open
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNC Greensboro's split squad wrapped up competition in Boone, N.C. at the Blue Ridge Open on Friday afternoon.
Taylor Day paced the Spartan men with a time of 27:54.50 and Justin Ruppe followed by running a 28:22.96.
Chelsea Willette was one of two Spartans to compete on the women's team. She finished with a time of 21:43.77, while teammate Courtney Fawcett ran a 21:56.30.
18 other members of the Spartan team will also compete this weekend on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at the USC Upstate Invitational.