Samford Women Win Troy Coach "O" Invitational, Men Finish Fourth
TROY, Ala. - The Samford University women's cross country team won its second consecutive meet at the Troy Coach "O" Invitational Saturday. The men's took fourth, marking the second best finish for the Bulldog men this season.
The meet was Samford's final meet before taking to Elon, N.C., in two weeks for the Southern Conference Cross Country Championships on Oct. 31. Samford head coach Rod Tiffin believes his teams are on the right track to being successful at the championship meet.
"I think for the most part, we are right where we need to be in our preparation for conference," Tiffin said. "Coach (Lori) Strand has done a great job preparing the team. It should be fun in Elon in couple of weeks."
The Samford women tallied 31 points, 34 ahead of second place team South Alabama. Alabama State finished third with 67 points while host team Troy grabbed fourth with 71 points. Huntingdon College totaled 173 points for fifth, followed closely behind in sixth by Albany State with 175 points. Alabama A&M (187) and Tuskegee (212) rounded out the women's field in seventh and eighth, respectively.
Alabama State and Troy tied for the men's title with 46 points, followed by Alabama in third with 53 points. The Samford Bulldog men took fourth with 69 points. Albany placed fifth, tallying 153 points while Huntingdon College (166) and Tuskegee (174) rounded out the men's field.
The women were led by junior Hillary Neal, who also took her second straight win of the season in the meet. She finished almost a minute ahead of South Alabama's Tori Lawson (11:09.16), running 10:57.97. Andrea Seccafien finished sixth with a time of 11:26.40 followed by Ina Ables (11:26.74), Jessica Van Ausdall (11:29.74), Lauren D'Alessio (11:31.80) and Cori Christensen (11:32.60) rounded out the top ten for the Bulldogs in seventh through tenth places.
Holly Benson grabbed 16th place with a time of 12:02.28 while Jillian Klassen came in 17th just seven-tenths of a second behind Benson with a time of 12:02.91. Alli Keithan rounded out the Samford women's field, coming in 25th place with a time of 12:28.78.
Running unattached for the women were Deanna Zidar and Lauren Pilcher. Zidar placed 28th with a time of 12:36.29 while Pilcher placed 38th with a time of 13:35.75.
Cameron Bean, who ran unattached, took second place, bracketed by All-Americans Augustus Maiya in first and Michael Green in third. He ran the 5K course in 14:52.85. Blaise Carie led the Bulldog field, taking sixth place with a time of 15:38.32. Scott Cope finished second for the Bulldogs with a time of 16:07.39, landing him in 16th place.
Chas Keithan (16:20.45) came in 21st while Sam Shaughnessy (16:29.08) and Will Denton (16:34.06) placed 24th and 25th, respectively. Ramsey White finished 31st with a time of 16:49.67, and Jay Maservy rounded out the Samford field in 39th place with a time of 17:13.04.
Chattanooga Women Win Front Runner Invitational, Men Place Second
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - On a chilly, cloudy Saturday afternoon along the Tennessee River, the Lady Mocs edged Middle Tennessee by three points to win the 2009 Front Runner Cross Country Invitational while the men fell to the Blue Raiders.
The Lady Mocs won with 26 points to the Blue Raiders' 29. Tennessee State was third in the three-team event with 80 points.
Junior Anneli Uys (Somerset, Australia) led Chattanooga to the win with a second place finish running the two-mile course in a time of 11:22. Freshman Heather Stuive (Beamsville, Ontario) was third for the Lady Mocs at 11:29.
Freshman Mary Cumbee (Brentwood, Tenn.) was sixth (11:54), junior Lauren Anderson (Greeneville, Tenn.) was next with a time of 12:02 followed in eighth place by freshman Kathryn Stuart (Brentwood, Tenn.) with a time of 12:04. Junior Meredith White (Grayson, Ga.) was 12th overall with a time of 12:58.
MTSU's Zamzam Sangau won the event with a time of 11:13 while teammate Jackie Serem was fourth (11:34) and Marla Bailey was fifth with a time of 11:38.
Running unattached, freshman Amanda Sumner (Bristol, Conn.) placed seventh in the overall standings while Tara Gietema (Knoxville, Tenn.) was 11th overall with a time of 12:14.
In the men's race, Middle Tennessee finished five runners in the top 10 to win the Front Runner by a score of 18-37 in the two-team race. Poor weather conditions over the past few weeks caused many teams to pull out of the competition leaving UTC and MTSU to race in a dual meet.
Chattanooga junior Emmanuel Kirwa (Kapsebet, Kenya) was third with a time of 15:23. Freshman Kyle McLarty (Collierville, Tenn.) was seventh with a time of 16:05 over the 5-kilometer course followed immediately by freshman Mark Cole (McKenzie, Tenn.) at 16:06.
Sophomore Joshue Vasquez (Kingsport, Tenn.) was ninth with a time of 16:17 and senior David Moore (Sarnia, Ontario) placed 10th with a time of 16:30. Kevin Huwe (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) was 11th for the Mocs with a time of 17:05.
MTSU's Festus Chemaoi won the race with a time of 15:11 followed by teammate William Songock at 15:21.
The Running Mocs will take the next two weeks to prepare for the upcoming Southern Conference championships to be held in Boone, N.C. The women, picked to finish second, will look to defend three consecutive league titles. The men, who placed second in the team standings last year with Kirwa taking Runner of the Year honors, were selected to finish second by the league coaches.
Furman Teams Sweep Winthrop/Asics Fall Classic
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Furman men's and women's cross country teams won the Winthrop Fall Classic meet Saturday in Rock Hill, S.C. Junior Charles McGoogan won the men's 6K meet with a time of 18:27.11 to lead the Paladins to first place out of nine teams with 35 points.
Furman placed three runners in the top 10 of the men's race with sophomore Lee Gilmer placing second in 18:41.87 and sophomore Chris Caldwell finishing sixth with a time of 19:07.60. Sophomore Jay Miller was 12th after completing the course in 19:35.62, and sophomore Knox Sutterfield placed 14th with a time of 19:38.56.
Sophomore Chloe Kowalski placed second in the women's 4K race with a time of 14:31.15 to lead the Paladins to first place out of six teams with 34 points. Furman placed four runners in the top 10, with senior Brittany Johnson finishing fifth after completing the course in 14:44.80 and junior Jenna Callahan taking seventh place with a time of 14:58.18. Sophomore Charlotte Coggins placed ninth after finishing in 15:01.61, and sophomore Hannah Morgan rounded out the Furman scorers with a 11th place finish and a time of 15:03.48.
The Paladins will compete at the Southern Conference Championships on Oct. 31 in Elon, N.C.
The Citadel Men Finish Second, Women Sixth, at Winthrop/Asics Fall Classic
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Citadel cross country teams participated in the 2009 Winthrop Asics Fall Classic on Saturday morning in Rock Hill, S.C. The Bulldog men finished second with 48 points while the women placed sixth with 134 points.
Senior Brendan Kight led The Citadel men to their highest finish of the season when he posted a time of 19:05 for fifth place. A second later, Chris Fallis followed finishing sixth with a time of 19:06. John Gatewood placed 11th with a time of 19:32 while Nathan Jackson recorded a time of 19:37 for 14th place. Freshmen Atom Young finished 17th and Kyle Keene placed 18th with a time of 19:44 and 19:48, respectively.
For the women, Katheryn Gatewood was the lone Bulldog to place in the top 25, recording a time of 15:25 for 18th place. In other successful performances, Natalie Wolin crossed the finish line at 27th with a time of 15:48 and Micah Wessinger placed 35th posting a time of 16:14. Sarah Stierwalt completed the course 37th with a time of 16:16 while Suzanne Gay finished 41st with a time of 16:24.
The Bulldogs will have a couple of weeks to prepare for the 2009 Southern Conference Championships that will be held in Elon, N.C. on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m. For more information on Bulldog Cross Country, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
Georgia Southern Women Place Fourth at Winthrop/Asics Fall Classic
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Sara Curry (Lawrenceville, Ga.) paced the Georgia Southern cross country team with a time of 15:35.66 and helped lead the Eagles to a fourth place finish in the Asics Winthrop Fall Classic Saturday.
Kate Griewisch won the meet for Lenoir-Rhyne with a time of 14:13.57. Furman finished first with an average time of 14:51.85. The Eagles averaged a time of 15:50.53 and bested fellow SoCon member Citadel who finished sixth.
Laura Fuller (Cartersville, Ga.) finished just behind Curry in 21st place with a time of 15:36.51. Kassi Lee (Elberton, Ga.) gave GS its third top-30 finish when she crossed the line with a time of15:50.34.
The sophomores recorded a strong performance. Brittani Martin (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Azura Robillard (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) finished back-to-back in 32nd and 33rd place. Martin crossed the line first with a time of 16:03.31. Robillard finished just behind Martin with a time of 16:06.81. Leah Bradley (McDonough, Ga.) finished 40th with a mark of 16:23.83. Morgan Jefferson (Villa Rica, Ga.) crossed the line a place behind Bradley and finished with a time of 16:30.86.
Senior Shauntel Jennings (Stone Mountain, Ga.) crossed the line behind Martin and Robillard with a time of 16:12.02.
Heather McAllister (Cartersville, Ga.) finished second among the freshman with a mark of 16:15.68.
Amanda Tennyson (Grayson, Ga.) and Talisha Rice (Stockbridge, Ga.) finished back-to-back in 45th and 46th place. Tennyson crossed the line with a time of 17:04.86 and Rice came in right behind her with a mark of 17:10.99.
Molly McBrearty (Macon, Ga.) wrapped up the meet for the Eagles with a 51st place finish (17:41.37).
Cross country returns to action October 31st at the SoCon Championships in Elon, N.C.
UNC Greensboro Men Win USC Upstate Invitational, Women Finish Third
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Sophomore Joey Thompson led the UNC Greensboro men's team to a first-place finish, while senior Sherrika Jordan paced the women's team to a third-place finish on Saturday morning at the USC Upstate Invitational.
Thompson, coming off a school run of 24:56.7 at the Charlotte Invitational, came in second-place on with a time of 25:03.84. Fellow sophomore Mike Koech wasn't far behind as his time of 25:15.61 was good enough for third place.
Andy Clyne came in fourth place with a time of 25:39.86 and A.J. Savoia ran a 26:07.14 to finish in sixth place. Ben Vasquez gave the Spartans their fifth top-10 finish with a time of 26:38.02 to come in 10th place.
The women's team had a pair of top-10 finishers in Jordan and Kerry Hartman. Jordan's time of 19:05.55 gave her a sixth-place finish, while Hartman ran a 19:14.58 to finish in 10th place.
Chelsea Sumney came in 14th place with a time of 19:31.34 before six Spartan runners crossed the line consecutively, beginning with Michelle Chewens in 18th place.
The Spartans will now have two weeks before competing at the Southern Conference Championships at 10 a.m. in Elon, N.C. on Oct. 31.
Davidson Women Take First Place at USC Upstate Invitational
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Davidson Wildcat cross country team captured a first-place finish behind three top-five performances at the USC Upstate Invitational Saturday morning in Spartanburg.
Freshman Natalie Atabek paced the Wildcats once again, finishing in third place with a time of 18:53, followed immediately by junior Lauren Childs (4th, 18:57) and classmate Heather Conarroe (5th, 19:01).
"I am extremely proud of the way we ran today!" head coach Jen Straub said. "We put it all together as a team, and I'm feeling very good about where we are as we finish our season. We are right where we need to be and running great as we begin to prepare for the Southern Conference championships!"
All five of the Wildcat scorers finished in the top 15 in the field of 101 runners. Junior Danielle Ruggieri finished ninth with a time of 19:12, and classmate Sarah Cline rounded out of the Wildcat scoring with a 15th-place time of 19:32.
As a team, the Wildcats amassed just 36 points to win their first team title of the season. Host USC Upstate finished in the runner-up spot with 45 points, behind individual champion Caroline Chelulei (17:59) and runner-up Jemeli Sang (18:00).
In the field of 12, UNC Greensboro finished third with 67 points, followed by Charlotte (102), Wofford (137), Carson-Newman (188), and Converse (208). Campbell (224), South Wesleyan (229) and Charleston Southern (245) rounded out the top 10.
The Wildcats will now prepare for the 2009 Southern Conference Championships, held in Elon, N.C. on Oct. 31.
Wofford Men Place Third, Women Fifth, at USC Upstate Invitational
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford cross country teams competed Saturday at the Upstate Invitational, with the men's team taking third and the women finishing fifth.
Freshman Trey Parker led the men's team by setting a new school and freshman record with a time of 26:06.91, good for fifth place overall. Parker's record-setting time marks the third time the freshman from Sumter, S.C. has set a school record this year, and the second time he has set one at the Milliken Park course.
Senior Bryan Brooks also finished in the top-25 with a time of 27:24.75 on the 8K course. Three Terriers ran personal bests in the race. Freshman Russell Baker came in with a time of 28:02.44, senior Paul Vecchione finished in a time of 28:13.01 and sophomore Mavrick Harris ran the course in a time of 28:53.26. The men's team took third place out of nine teams.
The Wofford women finished fifth out of 12 teams on the 5K course. Freshman Andrea Kelsey paced the Terriers with a time of 19:36.03, putting her in 16th place individually. Fellow freshman Nicole Klasnic also finished in the top-25 with a time of 20:05.64 to finish 24th. Rounding out the top four for the Wofford women were freshmen Shelby Harris and Kim Stauffer, who finished with times of 20:15.65 and 20:50.22, respectively.