Chattanooga Men, Women Finish Second at UTC PowerAde Invitational
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga men's and women's cross country team each finished second in the UTC PowerAde Invitational Friday evening at the Moccasin Bend Race Course.
The Lady Mocs, led by Anneli Uys (Somerville, Australia) in third, placed four runners in the top 10 but fell 41-42 to Middle Tennessee. Uys ran the two-mile course in a time of 11:39 and freshman Heather Stuive (Ontario, Canada) was the second UTC runner placing sixth with a time of 12:01.
Senior Shelley Taylor (Cohutta, Ga.) was near the lead runners when at about the halfway point, she had to drop out with an injury.
Freshmen Kathryn Stuart (12:18) and Mary Cumbee (12:23), both of Brentwood, Tenn., finished ninth and 10th respectively. Lauren Anderson (Greeneville, Tenn.) was the Lady Mocs last scoring runner with a time of 12:38 in the 14th spot. Meredith White (Grayson, Ga.) finished 22nd and running unattached was freshman Amanda Sumner (Bristol, Conn.) who was 11th overall with a time of 12:29.
"I feel really good about the girls," UTC Head Coach Bill Gautier said. "They are better than I hoped they'd be at this point. I was extremely pleased with Anneli (Uys).
"We ran a lot of freshmen today. We get Tara (Gietema) and Shelley (Taylor) back and we'll be good enough to do well at the conference meet."
Kennesaw State's Mackenzie Howe was the women's overall winner finishing in a time of 11:15 followed by Middle Tennessee's top runner Zamzam Sangau in second with a time of 11:24
In the men's race, Emmanuel Kirwa (Kapsabet, Kenya) was the top scoring finisher for the Mocs in third place. He ran the 5-kilometer race in a time of 15:52 followed by freshman Kyle McLarty (Collierville, Tenn.) was fourth for UTC with a time of 16:00.
"Kyle (McLarty) is another great freshman," Gautier said. "Mark Cole finished 15th was a big plus for us."
The Mocs put three runners in the top 10 with sophomore Josh Vasquez (Kingsport, Tenn.) finishing eighth with a time of 16:16. Freshman Mark Cole (McKenzie, Tenn.) was 13th with a time of 16:27 and Blake Ketron (Kingsport, Tenn.) rounded out the scoring with a time of 16:52 in the 20th spot.
Senior Kevin Huwe was 25th for UTC with a time of 17:22 and Michael Danehy (Morristown, Tenn.) came in at 26th running the course in 17:37.
Running unattached, Chris Berry (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) was second overall with a time of 15:33 just three seconds behind Middle Tennessee's Festus Chemaoi, the overall champion.
"I'm not sure if we'll redshirt Chris (Berry) or not this year," Gautier said. "If he ran today, we would have won, but we have to make sure we have the guys to back him up."
"I'm content for now. We still have a way to go," Gautier said. "It's still early. This is our first race this year."
Both teams will compete next Friday in the 21st Crimson Classic hosted by the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Women's Results
3. Anneli Uys 11:39
6. Heather Stuive 12:01
9. Kathryn Stuart 12:18
10. Mary Cumbee 12:23
11. Amanda Sumner (unattached) 12:29
14. Lauren Anderson 12:38
22. Meredith White 13:36
Men's Results
2. Chris Berry (unattached) 15:33
3. Emmanuel Kirwa 15:52
4. Kyle McLarty 16:00
8. Josh Vasquez 16:16
13. Mark Cole 16:27
20. Blake Ketron 16:52
25. Kevin Huwe 17:22
26. Michael Danehy 17:37
Furman Women Finish First at Elon Invitational, Men Finish Second
ELON, N.C. -- The Furman women's cross country team won the Elon Invitational in Elon, N.C., on Saturday morning, scoring 36 points for the victory. The Paladin men's team took second place with 47 points, only to be edged out by Elon with 46 points.
Furman sophomore Chloe Kowalski won the women's individual meet, completing the 5K course in 18:41. Also rounding out the top-5 finishers were Paladin junior Jenna Callahan in fourth place (18:57) and Paladin senior Brittany Johnson in fifth place (19:07). Furman senior Megan Lordi placed tenth with a time of 19:28, while sophomore Tricia Rossettie finished 16th with a time of 19:44.
Paladin junior Charles McGoogan won the men's individual meet with a time of 2:52 on the 8K course. Furman sophomore Chris Caldwell placed fifth with a time of 26:26, while sophomore Lee Gilmer posted a time of 26:47 for eighth place. Freshman Wilkerson Given placed 11th (27:04), and sophomore Jay Miller finished 17th (27:21) to round out the Paladin runners.
Both teams will compete next Saturday at the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C.
Elon Men Take First at Elon Invitational
ELON, N.C. - Justin Gianni paced the Elon men's cross country team to a first-place finish with a time of 26:05, good enough for second place, at the Elon Invitational on Saturday morning.
Sophomore Will Schefer recorded Elon's other top-five finish with a third-place finish and a time of 26:12. Furman's Charlie McGogan took home the individual title with a time of 25:52.
"I was really excited that the men were able to pull out the win today," head coach Christine Engel said. "We had several runners that edged out their opponents in the final meters of the race."
Matt Richardson was Elon's other top-10 performer with an eighth-place time of 26:39. Connor Mercurio and Ranley Gousse finished 15th and 18th, respectively, with times of 27:09 and 27:14.
Taylor Zorski and Clay Sankey rounded out Elon's top-seven with times of 27:30 and 27:41.
The trio of Conor O'Brien, Andrew Hawkey and David Wells finished 32nd, 33rd and 34th with times of 27:49, 27:54 and 27:54.
Lucas Walters posted a 39th-place finish with a time of 28:12, while Sean Martyn clocked a 28:47. Tim Garber and Andrew Garrison rounded out the field for the Phoenix with times of 29:13 and 29:43.
Elon returns to action next Saturday, September 19 at the Winthrop Invitational. Full coverage of the meet will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.
Elon Women Place Second at Elon Invitational
ELON, N.C. - The Elon women's cross country team finished one point behind Southern Conference foe Furman for a second-place finish at the Elon Invitational on Saturday morning. Leading the charge for the Phoenix was junior Emily Fournier with a third-place finish and a time of 18:50. Furman's Chloe Kowalski earned the individual championship with a time of 18:41.
"I was very proud of the way that the women raced today," head coach Christine Engel said. "The team has worked really hard to prepare and had a strong showing in the season's first meet."
Caitlin Beeler earned a sixth-place finish with a time of 19:08. Jacqueline Alnes and Allyson Costa rounded out Elon's top-ten performances, finishing seventh and ninth with times of 19:16 and 19:35, respectively.
The freshman duo of Sullivan Parkes and Morgan Denecke recorded times of 19:35 and 19:37 on their way to a 12th and 14th place finishes. Catherine Rossi clocked a 19:38 as she went on to finish 15th.
Melanie Reyer and Emily Tryon finished 20th and 21st, respectively, with times of 19:54 and 19:55. Christine Pacewicz recorded a 28th-place finish with a time of 20:13, while Madison Russo earned a top-30 finish with a time of 20:21. Meaghan Collins rounded out the field for Elon with a time of 21:08.
Elon returns to action Saturday, September 19 at the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. Full results of the meet will be available at www.elonphoenix.com.
College of Charleston Men, Women Place Third at Elon Invitational
ELON, N.C. - The College of Charleston men's and women's cross country teams finished third at the inaugural Elon Invitational on the campus of Elon University on Saturday morning.
"We had some great improvements across the board compared to last week, especially on the men's side," said head coach Amy Seago. "This course was also much tougher to run on than last weeks, so it's good to see improvement on a course we will be running the SoCon Championships on."
For the women, the top finisher on the day was Kristen Wolfe (Midlothian, Va.), who ran the 5K course in 19:14 to finish eight overall. Other top performers included Erin Stoddard (Maudlin, S.C.) who placed 11th in 19:32 and Becky Stewart (Manassas, Va.), who finished 13th in 19:37.
For the men, Trevor Sprague (Dunwoody, Ga.) ran the course in 26:39 to finish seventh overall. Christian Bailey (Charlotte, N.C.) finished in 26:51 to place 10th, while David Thomas (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) finished 14th in 27:08.
The Cougars return to action on Sept. 26th when they take part in the The Citadel Inviational at the James Island County Park in Charleston.
Georgia Southern Takes Fifth at the Elon Invitational
ELON, N.C. - The Georgia Southern cross country team finished fifth out of 10 teams in the 5K Elon Invitational. Laura Fuller (Cartersville, Ga.) paced the Eagles in her first meet of the season. Fuller finished 26th with a time of 20:10.
"Laura Fuller came out and ran really well. I am really impressed with her first race of the year," said head coach Natalie Smith.
Freshman Sara Curry (Lawrenceville, Ga.) was impressive in her first meet. Curry finished second for the Eagles and 39th overall with a time of 20:56.
Morgan Jefferson (Villa Rica, Ga.) and Kassi Lee (Elberton, Ga.) both improved on their times from the Gamecock Invitational (Sep 4). Jefferson shaved nearly five seconds off of her previous time and finished 45th with a time of 21:10. Lee finished right behind Jefferson with a time of 21:11.
"Today was a good learning experience for us because we were able to see the 2009 SoCon Championship course."
Brittani Martin (Alpharetta, Ga.) finished 51st with a time of 21:17. Azura Robillard (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) finished one spot behind Martin with a time of 21:22. Amanda Tennyson (Grayson, Ga.) was the seventh Eagle to finish, crossing the line with a time of 21:55.
Heather McAllister (Cartersville, Ga.), Andreina Salas (Marietta, Ga.), Shauntel Jennings (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Leah Bradley (McDonough, Ga.) rounded out the Elon Invitational for the Eagles.
McAllister finished with a time of 21:42. Salas crossed the line with a time of 21:59. Jennings came in 64th place with a time of 22:10. Bradley wrapped up the competition with a time of 22:23.
"We are focusing on keeping a racing mentality during competition and if we do that we should see drastic improvement in the next few weeks."
The Eagles will take a week off before heading to The Citadel Invitational on September 26.
The Citadel Men Finish Fifth at Elon Invitational, Women Take Eighth
Elon, N.C. - The Citadel Cross Country teams competed in the Elon Invitational in Elon, N.C. on Saturday with Brendan Kight leading the men to a fifth place finish with 120 points and the women finishing eighth overall with 195 points.
Kight ran across the finish line with at time of 26:54 for 11th place. Freshman Kyle Keen was next finishing 21st posting a time of 27:28. A few seconds later, Nathan Jackson ran a time of 27:40 for 26th place. Freshman John Gatewood came in at 30th overall recording 27:45 and Atom Young followed running a time of 27:54 for 35th place.
On the women's side, senior Katheryn Gatewood was the first Bulldog to finish the course, coming in at 37th with a time of 20:51. Natalie Wolin only trailed by eight seconds finishing 40th overall with a time of 20:59 and Suzanne Gay came in at 50th recording 21:15.
The Bulldogs will have about two weeks to rest before hosting The Citadel Invitational at James Island County Park in Charleston, S.C. on Saturday, Sept. 26 with the races beginning at 8 a.m. For more information on Bulldog Cross Country, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
UNC Greensboro Men, Women Compete at Elon Invitational
ELON, N.C. - Sophomore Jenna Paley led the women's side, while senior Justin Ruppe paced the men's squad as UNC Greensboro wrapped up competition at the Elon Invitational on Saturday morning.
Paley's time of 20:53 in the women's 5k race was good enough for 38th place. Courtney Fawcett wasn't far behind as she finished with a time of 21:27. Chelsea Willette and Latrese Bristol rounded out the women's side with times of 22:21 and 23:14, respectively.
Ruppe finished in 51st place with a time of 29:08 and Ryan Soloman was right behind him with at time of 29:37. Lamar Watkins finished in 58th place with a time of 29:56 and Pat O'Connor followed in 66th place.
The Spartans return to competition next weekend at the Lou Onesty Invitational in Charlottesville, Va. at 10 a.m.