Samford Women, Men Take Second In Samford Invitational
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University women's and men's cross country teams each finished second in their respective meets Saturday morning in the 2010 Samford Invitational at Hoover's Veterans Park. The meet was held in conjunction with the Southeast XC Showdown and served as a preview meet for the NCAA South Regional Championships which Samford will host in November.
The Bulldogs set a goal to run and finish as a team this weekend and Samford head coach Rod Tiffin said, although he is disappointed that the Bulldogs walked away without a team title, he thought they accomplished their goal.
"I think for the most part we ran well as a team," Tiffin said. "You know, we came in and wanted to try to beat UAB today but weren't able to do that on the women's side. But overall, it was a good race. We got to run a big hill which helped us get ready for the conference meet in three weeks. I mean, our goal is to get better every week and I think we are still doing that. I think we are still in the driver's seat with the women and our guys are moving forward just like we expected them to do."
The UAB women took the team win with 29 points followed by Samford in second place with 42. Belmont placed third with 68 points while Kennesaw State took fourth with 97 points and Birmingham-Southern came in fifth with 122 points.
Rhiannon Johns of UAB and Mackenzie Howe of Kennesaw State were the top two finishers in the women's 5K race with times of 17:52.53 and 18:02.28, respectively.
Lauren D'Alessio was the top runner for the Bulldog women, clocking a time of 18:06.28 for third place. Hillary Neal finished sixth with a time of 18:53.26 while Ina Ables was Samford's third top-ten finisher with a time of 18:57.70 to take eighth place.
Deanna Zidar placed 12th with a time of 19:18.20 followed by Claire Grogan in 14th place with a time of 19:31.82. Holly Benson placed 18th with a time of 19:45.69 while Alli Keithan (20:13.16), Rachel Sims (20:20.48) and Lauren Pilcher (20:22.13) finished 21st, 22nd and 23rd. Brooke Smith came in 25th with a time of 20:28.64 followed by Lillie Jackson in 30th with a time of 20:53.40. Lauren Ewart (21:22.90) and Madison Davis (21:27.50) rounded out the Samford field in 32nd and 33rd places.
Kennesaw State took the men's team title with 16 points followed by Samford in second place with 47 points. Birmingham-Southern placed third with 66 points.
"On the guys' side, I thought we really ran well," Tiffin said. "Our freshman guys are getting better every week and they seem to really be responding to the training. We are really excited about seeing where we finish up with those guys."
Kennesaw State owned the top three spots in the men's 8K race while former Bulldog Blaise Carie, who ran unattached, placed fourth with a time of 26:05.87.
Layton Dorsett was the top runner for the Bulldog men for the second week in a row. The freshman placed eighth with a time of 27:17.18 followed by freshman James Graham in ninth place with a time of 27:28.86 and senior Scott Cope in 10th place with a time of 27:30.64. John Gayle and Ramsey White came in 13th and 14th with times of 28:17.81 and 28:20.84, respectively. Dan Hall (31:03.77) and George Mardre (31:57.88) rounded out the Samford field in 28th and 29th places.
Samford will be back in action next Saturday when the Bulldogs head to Chattanooga to run in the UTC Front Runner Invitational. The meet will be Samford's last before the Southern Conference Championships in Boone, N.C., on October 30.
Paladin Men Win Gene Mullin Furman Cross Country Invitational; Women Finish Second Behind Georgia
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman men's team won the 38th Gene Mullin Furman Cross Country Invitational Saturday morning in Greenville, S.C., while the Paladin women's team finished second behind Georgia. The men's team scored 26 points in the field of 11 teams, and the women's team scored 56 points in the field of 13 teams.
Senior Charlie McGoogan was the top collegiate finisher after turning in a time of 25:42 on the 8K course. Junior Lee Gilmer placed third with a time of 25:49, and junior Chris Caldwell took fourth place with a time of 26:15. Three additional Paladins finished in the top 20, with freshman Jack Klecker claiming 12th with a time of 26:56, junior John Miller taking 13th with a time of 27:01, and freshman Tyler Greathouse placing 16th after posting a time of 27:10.
Furman freshman James Perez placed 29th with a time of 27:51, while fellow rookie Jackson Sinor took 49th with a time of 29:32. Freshman Ian Richardson turned in a time of 29:59 for 56th place.
Junior Brooke Mosteller led the Furman women's team after taking second place among collegiate finishers with a time of 18:31 on the 5K course. Senior Jenna Callahan placed seventh with a time of 19:03, and junior Rebecca Shelton took 14th place with a time of 19:29. Paladin freshman Catherine Burton placed 17th with a time of 19:35, followed by junior Erin Barker in 18th with a time of 19:36 to round out Furman's top 20 finishers.
Freshman Julia Means was 26th with a time of 19:49, and junior Charlee Coggins placed 29th with a time of 19:55. Sophomore Haley Gray posted a time of 19:57 to take 31st place, followed by freshman Erika Shaver in 32nd place with a time of 20:01. Senior Julia Bryant placed 37th with a time of 20:30.
Rookie Kacie Shoen placed 50th with a time of 21:01. Junior Tricia Rossettie took 52nd place after recording a time of 21:06, while sophomore Hannah Robinson was 53rd with a time of 21:10. Sophomore Jessica Pate was 59th with a time of 21:33, and freshman Allison Davey placed 69th with a time of 22:30. Freshman Mary Mickelsen took 71st place with a time of 22:37.
Furman will run at the Blue Ridge Open in Boone, N.C. on Oct. 15.
Eagle Cross Country Finishes Second at Jaguar Invitational
EVANS, Ga. - Three Georgia Southern individuals finished in the top 10 of the Augusta State Jaguar Invitational Cross Country meet at Blanchard Woods Saturday morning as the Eagles took second place overall in the meet. Sophomore Sara Curry ran a time of 24:20.46 in the 6K race for second overall among the individuals. Classmate Heather McAllister posted a 25:41.89 for third and Azura Robillard placed 10th in the meet with her time of 26:49.79.
"Our top three did pretty well considering this was our team's first 6K race," said Eagles Head Cross Country Coach Natalie Smith. "This was an extremely hilly course with some really rough terrain and it was great preparation for the SoCon championships which will be at Appalachian State at the end of the month. I was proud of the way our top three ran. This says a lot about Azura who just returned to a full week of training after an injury. She is accustomed to running the 800 meters and she really got after this longer race."
Freshman Amanda Ventre and sophomore Amanda Tennyson had were 17th and 18th, respectively, with senior Kassi Lee rounding out the Eagle scoring with a top-25 finish.
Georgia Southern competes next at the USC Upstate Invitational next Saturday, October 16th. The women's race begins at 10 a.m.