Davidson Men Take First Place at Winthrop/Asics Invitational
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Davidson runners Lance Harden and Ryan Hopkins finished as the top-two affiliated runners at the 23rd annual Asics Winthrop Invitational to lead the 'Cats men's cross country team to their second team title in as many events this season on Saturday morning at the Winthrop Farm Course. The Wildcats totaled 43 points, just edging out second-place Elon by two points.
Harden and Hopkins placed second and third overall, respectively as unattached runner Matthew Elliot won in 24 minutes, 56.74 seconds. Harden, a senior, was just three seconds behind, completing the 8K course in 24:59.72. Hopkins, finished in 25:14.59.
Demetrios Pagonis (11 points, 26:27.18), Peter Bruton (13 points, 26:37.98) and Greg Marcil (16, 26:37.98) completed the Wildcats' top-five scoring group. Vincent Weir (27th place overall, 27:06.62) and Wes Reynolds (30th, 27:19.11) were Davidson's sixth and seventh finishers, respectively.
The six-team university division field included four Southern Conference and two Big South teams. Behind Davidson and Elon were fellow SoCon teams Western Carolina (third, 64 points) and Wofford (fifth, 132). Hosting Winthrop placed fourth with 92 points and Presbyterian was sixth with 183 points.
After earning their first team victory since 2007 at the season opening Eye Opener at USC Upstate meet in Spartanburg, S.C. on Sept. 5, the Wildcats have now won their first two meets to open the season.
The 'Cats will return to action Oct. 3, when they travel to the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic in Louisville, Ky.
Davidson Women Finish Second at Winthrop/Asics Invitational
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Davidson Wildcats women's cross country team raced to a runner-up finish behind three top-10 performances at the Winthrop Asics Fall Classic on the campus of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., Saturday morning.
Freshman Natalie Atabek once again paced the Wildcats, finishing fifth in a team-best time of 18:43. Junior Lauren Childs finished seventh for the 'Cats with a time of 18.56, and sophomore Jane Gay placed 10th with a time of 19.00.
Junior Heather Conarroe finished in 16th place (19:09), while junior Danielle Ruggieri placed 19th (19:20) to round out the scoring for the Wildcats, who amassed 53 points as a team.
"I'm very pleased with the way we ran today," head coach Jen Straub said. "We had three top-10 performances, and Natalie led again! We had a solid showing and beat some good teams today!"
With 46 points, South Carolina captured the team title, behind a pair of top-10 finishers and individual champion, Danielle Barnes (18:11). Elon finished in third place with 56 points, and Western Carolina (100), Winthrop (103), VCU (155), Wofford (198) and Presbyterian (255) rounded out the field.
The Wildcats will return to action Oct. 3, when they travel to the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic in Louisville, Ky.
Elon Men Take Second at Winthrop/Asics Invitational
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Justin Gianni, Will Schefer and Matt Richardson finished seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively, at the Asics Winthrop Invitational to lead the Elon men's cross country squad to a second-place finish, just two points behind Southern Conference foe Davidson.
Elon finished ahead of SoCon opponents Western Carolina and Wofford along with Winthrop and Presbyterian.
"The men ran significantly better as a team than a week ago," said head coach Christine Engel. "We had a great race. It was tough to lose by two points to a very good Davidson team, but I am please with our performance."
Gianni posted a personal-best time of 25:47.85, which ranks as the sixth-best time in the Elon record book. Shefer ran a time of 25:53.59, landing him eighth in Elon's top-10 times while Richardson's mark of 26:00.77 is good for the 10th-best time at Elon.
Connor Mercurio placed 12th with a time of 26:21.51 while Clay Sankey posted a time of 26:42.93 to finish 20th and round out Elon's top-five finishers.
Ranley Gousse finished 21st with a time of 26:45.80 while Taylor Zorski ran a time of 27:20.62 for a 31st-place finish. Andrew Hawkey and Lucas Walters finished 34th and 35th with times of 27:31.76 and 27:32.84. David Wells placed 44th with a time of 28:05.27 while Sean Martyn posted a time of 28:14.20 to place 47th and Conor O'Brien placed 53rd with a time of 28:40.20.
Elon returns to action on Oct. 3 at the Louisville Classic in Louisville, Kentucky.
Elon Women Place Third at Winthrop/Asics Invitational
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Emily Fournier placed third and Caitlin Beeler finished sixth to lead the Elon women's cross country team to a third-place finish at the Asics Winthrop Invitational. South Carolina won the meet while Southern Conference foe Davidson finished three points ahead of the Phoenix.
Elon finished ahead of conference opponents Western Carolina and Wofford as well as Winthrop, Virginia Commonwealth and Presbyterian.
"We ran better as a team than last week," said head coach Christine Engel. "However, our gaps are still being magnified and teams are putting too many runners in between our athletes. That is what we will need to work on moving forward."
Fournier's time of 18:39.96 ranks ninth in the Elon record book. Beeler posted a time of 18:49.38. Allyson Costa was Elon's third finisher with a time of 19:03.22 to place 14th. Jacqueline Alnes ran a time of 19:12.91 to place 17th while Morgan Denecke finished 21st with a time of 19:30.94 to round out Elon's top-five finishers.
Sullivan Parkes finished 22nd, right behind Denecke, with a time of 19:31.39 while Chrissy Pacewicz posted a time of 20:09.26 to finish 39th. Madison Russo and Courtney Whalen finished 42nd (20:12.14) and 43rd (20:13.21), respectively, while Catherine Rossi posted a time of 20:36.23 to place 51st.
Elon returns to action on Oct. 3 at the Louisville Classic in Louisville, Kentucky.
Western Carolina Men Finish Third, Women Fourth at Winthrop/Asics Invitational
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Western Carolina men's cross country team finished third in the 8K and the women placed fourth in the 5K at the Asics Winthrop Invitational on Saturday morning.
The men finished with 64 team points, while the women garnered 100 in the 7 team event. Davidson took the team win on the men's side with 43 points, while South Carolina captured the women's title with 46 points.
Josey Weaver recorded a new personal record in cross country with a time of 25:35.26. The fourth place finish was Weaver's second top-5 finish of the season. Senior Stephen Hammond quickly followed his teammate with a mark of 25:44.35 for his second top-5 finish of the season.
Nolan Clark edged in the top-20 of the 100-plus participant race with a time of 26.34.91. Garrett West and Drew Tucker finished side-by-side with times of 27:27.84 and 27:30.66 respectively. Jake Clawson (27:49.60) and Chase Fisher (27:52.73) rounded out the meet for WCU with 38th and 39th place finishes.
"We looked good up in the front," said Catamounts coach Danny Williamson. "We've got some gaps that we need to work on. We had a minute between our third and fourth runners.That's too much of a gap. We've got to concentrate on being closer together."
Jordan Gaddy earned another top-15 finish with a time of 19:02.54 for a 12th place finish in the women's first 5K this season. Freshman Mara Smith placed 14th after a time of 19:06.00.
Leslie Raymond (24th, 19:35.40), Lindsay Groce (26th, 19:39.48) and Morgan Turner (19:48.33) finished just inside the top 30.
Danielle Shaurette (32nd, 20:00.65), Olivia Jacobs (34th, 20:04.94) and Adrian Cooke (41st, 20:10.68) rounded out the final six for the Catamount women.
"We had some good individual performances, but we weren't as a team," noted Williamson. "We need to make sure that we are running as a team."
WCU will participate in the Charlotte Invitational in two weeks on Friday, Oct. 2.
Wofford Men Finish Fifth, Women Seventh at Winthrop/Asics Invitational
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Wofford cross country teams competed at the Winthrop Invitational on Saturday, where freshman Trey Parker broke the men's 8K school record for the second time in as many meets. Several Terriers on both the men's and women's sides established new personal best times.
The Terrier men finished fifth in the six-team field. Parker led the Terrier men with a time of 26:21.25, good for 11th place, and beat the previous record, which he set at the Eye-Opener Invitational, by 10 seconds. Freshman Russell Baker ran a season-best time of 28:03.73 to finish 43rd for the men, and senior Paul Vecchione also established a new personal best time with a 28:13.67 mark.
The Terrier women finished seventh in the eight-team field, with freshman Nicole Klasnik leading the way. Klasnik finished the 5K course in a season-best time of 20:03.10 to pace the team. Freshman Shelby Harris also recorded a season best time, clocking in at 20:19.95, good for 44th place. Fellow freshman Kim Stauffer ran a season-best time of 21:04.73.
The Terrier cross country teams will take the course again October 2 as they compete in the UNC Charlotte Invitational.
UNCG Women Take Second, Men Third at Lou Onesty Invitational
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Joey Thompson and Mike Koech paced the men's team, while Chelsea and Shaina Sumney led the women's squad on Saturday at the Lou Onesty Invitational at the University of Virginia. The women's team finished in second place and the men's team finished in third at the event.
Thompson finished in seventh place in the men's heat with a time of 25:23.70 and sophomore Mike Koech was less than four seconds behind him to finish in eighth place. Andy Clyne also turned in a top-15 performance by running at 25:48.30 to come in 14th place.
On the women's side, the Sumney sisters finished as the top two performers. Chelsea Sumney came in 12th place with a time of 19:42.00 and Shaina Sumney came in 15th with a time of 19:51.20. Kerry Hartman was just behind in 17th place with a time of 20:07.40 and Tiffany Garber ran a 20:11.50 to come in 18th place.
The Spartans return to competition on Oct. 2 as they travel to Charlotte, N.C. for the Charlotte Invitational.