Caudle Places 25th at Paul Short Run
BETHLEHEM, Pa.- Appalachian State University women's cross country had a strong overall showing at the 37th annual Brooks-Paul Short Run by having four of seven runners post career bests.
ASU competed against 41 teams on Lehigh's Goedman Campus Course and finished 17th overall in the team's first 6k run of the season.
Sophomore Brittney Caudle led the way for the Mountaineers by finishing 25th out of 366 runners in a time of 21:11.
App's next three runners came in together with senior Amy Neilson leading them in a time of 22:08. Fellow senior Dani Reese (22:10) and junior Hannah Orders (22:12) followed as all three registered personal bests.
Georgetown claimed the team crown with a point total of 34. The Hoyas came into the meet this weekend ranked 6th in Division I.
Sophomore Sarah Williamson (22:55) and freshman Destine Kirkman (22:57) were the next Black and Gold runners to cross the finish line.
Senior Natalie Shaw rounded out the top seven runners for ASU in a career-best time of 23:05.
The Mountaineers will take this coming week off in preparation for the Blue Ridge Open on October 15 at State Farm in Boone.
Soderman Leads Mountaineers in Pennsylvania
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Appalachian State University men's cross country had a strong overall showing at the 37th annual Brooks-Paul Short Run by having five of seven runners post career bests.
ASU competed against 42 teams on Lehigh's 8k course and finished 18th overall.
Junior Sean Soderman led the way for the Mountaineers by finishing 30th out of 387 runners. Soderman ran the 8k in a time of 24:39, which is under a second off his personal best.
The next App runner was sophomore Will Raby, who finished with a personal-best time of 25:04 to claim 72nd.
Virginia claimed the team crown with a point total of 132. The Cavaliers came into the meet this weekend ranked 22nd in Division I.
The next four runners to cross the finish line for Appalachian were all within a 20 second span and all posted career bests. Sophomore Alex Taylor led the foursome with a time of 25:22, and Taylor was closely followed by graduate-student Brandon Hudgins (25:25) and junior Chris Moen (25:28). Junior Nick Kelly finished just outside of the scoring for ASU with a time of 25:42.
Senior Burk Staub rounded out the seven runners for the Black and Gold with a time of 26:06.
The Mountaineers will take this coming week off in preparation for the Blue Ridge Open on October 15 at State Farm in Boone.
Bailey Sets School Record, Cougars Seventh
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Junior Christian Bailey set a new school record and the College of Charleston men's and women's cross country teams placed seventh Friday at the Charlotte Invitational.
Bailey finished as the 16th collegiate in the race, running a new school record of 25:33.6 for the 8k race. The previous record was 25:44, set by Trevor Sprague at the Charlotte Invitational last year. Junior Alexander Hill, wasn't far behind Bailey as he finished 19th in 25:34.7.
On the women's side freshman Dena O'Brien placed 11th in a career-best time of 17:53.1 for the 5k race. O'Brien's time is fourth on the all-time list for CofC.
Western Carolina Men Finish Sixth, Women Ninth
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Catamount men's and women's cross country teams completed the Charlotte Invitational with top-10 finishes on Friday, Oct. 1.
"We felt good about both of the performances from both the men's and women's team tonight," said Western Carolina head coach Danny Williamson. "We made a step in the right direction toward our goals and will continue to prepare for our next meet that we have in two weeks at Appalachian State."
Junior Josey Weaver led the Catamount men to a sixth-place finish out of a 22-team field, completing the 8K-event in a personal best time of 24:47.40 to finish third out of 206 runners. Nolan Clark ran a 25:49.10 in the race to finish 30th while sophomore Jake Swimmer placed 50th in a time of 26:17.40.
"We had some outstanding performances, especially in Josey Weaver with a third-place finish," said Williamson. "The back of our pack really picked it up tonight to help out in the final team standings. The three teams in front of us are regionally ranked and we had them in our sights all night, but we couldn't get ourselves in position to beat them."
Sophomores Tyler Dunn and Chase Fisher rounded out the top-five runners for the men, placing in 83rd (26:25.70) and 84th (26.27.00).
WCU finished the highest in the team standings from three participating Southern Conference members. The College of Charleston finished seventh while Wofford placed 13th.
Sophomore Morgan Tuner paced the Catamount women with a 27th-place finish, completing the 5K event in a time of 18.13.8. WCU placed ninth out of 25 teams and placed second out of the five SoCon teams participating in the meet with the College of Charleston finishing seventh in the team standings.
Sophomore Mara Smith finished 68th (19:04.20) followed by Olivia Jacobs in 75th (19:11.60). The remaining top-five finishers for WCU were sophomore Leslie Raymond in 80th in a time of 19:15.90 and senior Jordan Gaddy in 86th, crossing the finish line in a time of 19:27.50.
"We had Morgan Turner, Leslie Raymond, Kaylan Lance, Jocelyn Keen, Alyse Childress and Hayley Tomlinson all established lifetime best in the 5K event," said Williamson. "We had a huge gap between our 1-2-3 runners and that hurt our opportunities in scoring higher as a team. We need to do a much better job of not having such a gap in the future, but we made a step forward towards our goals for the season."
The Catamount cross country squads return to action on Friday, Oct. 15 at the Blue Ridge Open in Boone, N.C.
Parker Sets New Men's Cross Country School Record at Charlotte Invitational
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Trey Parker set a new Wofford College record as he turned in a time of 25:52.4 on the men's side, and Alyssa Burkert turned in the sixth fastest time on the women's side for the Terriers in the Charlotte Invitational at McAlpine Park Friday afternoon.
Parker's time is the fastest time by 12 seconds. It was the first time in school history a Terrier runner had ever turned in a time under 26 minutes. Parker broke his previous record of 26:04 that he set last season at Elon.
For Burkert, her time of 19:14 is just 34 seconds off the schools best of 18:48 set by Nicole Klasnic in 2009 in Charlotte.
Parker paced the men's team that placed 13th of 22 teams in the meet. Mavrick Harris followed with a time of 27:15, which is one second shy of the junior's personal best. Russell Baker had a time of 27:39.7, Matt Menard turned in a time of 28:54.8 and Ben Boyles ran a 31:07.7 to round out Wofford's top five runners. Baker's time was a new personal best and the first time he has turned in a time under 28 minutes.
On the women's side, the Terriers took 10th of 25 teams. Following Burkert was Andrea Kelsey, who ran a 19:29.3, and Sam Hughes, who ran a 19:36.9. All three runners broke the top 100 out of 248 runners. Kaite Kessler and Caitlin Dodd both set PRs with times of 19:44.6 and 19:54.4 respectively. Dodd's time was the first time the senior had broken the 20 minute mark.
The Terriers will return to Spartanburg for the next meet on October 16th in the USC Upstate Invitational.
Men Finish Fourth, Women Take Fifth at Great American Cross Country Festival
CARY, N.C. - The Citadel Cross Country teams competed in the Great American Cross Country Festival race on Friday afternoon at the Wakemed Soccer Park. The men came in fourth place, posting an average time of 27:06.0 and 91 points in the 8k race. The women competed in the 5k race and finished in fifth place after running an average time of 20:45.0.
Sophomore Kyle Keene led the Bulldogs as he finished in 13th place, posting a time of 26:36.9. John Gatewood and Austin Waldrop also finished among the top-20 in 16th and 17th place, respectively. Gatewood ran a time of 26:47.6, while Waldrop finished one second later at 26:48.6. Clayton Thornton, Chris Fallis, P.J. Wasilchak and Wells Johnson rounded out the Bulldogs in the top-40.
For the women, freshman Danielle McKee came in 16th place with a time of 19:22.07. Christina Shonbeck finished in 34th place with a time of 20:15.2 and Suzanne Gay came in 41st, posting a time of 20:43.2. Micah Wessinger earned a 53rd place finish with a time of 21:22.6 and Erinn Carter posted a time of 22:00.3 for a 58th place finish. Sarah Stierwalt rounded out the Bulldogs in 62nd place at 22:26.5.
Duke won the men's competition with an average time of 25:48.6, while the U.S. Naval Academy finished first for the women, posting an average time of 18:41.4.
Coming up next, the Bulldogs will travel to Charlotte, N.C. on Friday, Oct. 15 for the Royal CC Challenge.
Curry Posts Third-Best Time in Cross Country 5K History
Eagles finish 14th among top competition at Charlotte Invitational
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Sophomore Sara Curry recorded the third-best time in Georgia Southern cross country history, slashing more than 30 seconds off her previous best time in the 5,000K at the Charlotte Invitational. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native ran a time of 18:54.9 to help the Eagles to a 14th-place team finish Friday afternoon. Georgia Southern competed against 24 other teams representing the Atlantic Coast, Atlantic 10, Southeastern and Southern Conferences.
Curry, who opened the 2010 season at the Gamecock Invitational with the 10th-best time in Eagle history, was the top Georgia Southern finisher at Charlotte. Curry's time was one second less than the previous number-three mark by Lindsay Nye. Her time currently ranks in the SoCon's top 25 for this year.
"I was really excited for Sara Curry and the way she led our team today," said Eagles Cross Country Coach Natalie Smith. "She has really started to get in a groove and I believe this is just the beginning for her. Our runners two through five ran within 20 seconds of each other -- that's what we are looking for - and now they have to close in and move within a minute of Sara."
Four other Eagles had their best times of the 2010 season and one other personal best time was set. Sophomore Heather McAllister (Cartersville, Ga.) was the next Georgia Southern individual across the finish line at 20:25.9. Kassi Lee, the senior from Elberton, Ga., ran her best time of the 2010 season with a 20:30.4 and junior Brittani Martin (Alpharetta, Ga.) took 30 seconds off her season-best time with a 20:37.1.
Freshman Amanda Ventre (Acworth, Ga.) made the most improvement on her previous personal best with a 20:48.9, more than 46 seconds lower than her finish at the Clemson Invitational two weeks ago. Azura Robillard (Apopka, Fla.), who missed the last race, set her 2010 season-best time with a 20:59.2. Sophomore Talisha Rice (Stockbridge, Ga.) narrowly missed posting her best time of 2010 with a 22:14.6.
"I was not pleased with how we ran the second mile of the race today, however, we came back on the third mile and really competed," Smith said. "The ladies have to get more focused and keep their competition level high in the middle of the race. We had some significant time drops today and it will be interesting next week to see our performances when we run a 6,000K instead of a 5,000K.
The Eagles compete next on Saturday, October 9th at Augusta State's Jaguar Invitational. The race begins at 8 a.m. Updates on Georgia Southern cross country may be found online at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com, facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSScores.
Koech, Schnell break school records at Greater Louisville Classic
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Mike Koech broke the school record in the men's race and Ashley Schnell followed by doing the same in the women's race for UNCG on Saturday at the Greater Louisville Classic.
"The men ran a very good race today," said coach Linh Nguyen. "Obviously, Mike and Joey did great, breaking the school record by about 20 seconds. Our 7th man today was 25:53, which is faster than our 5th man was last year. We talked about being the best SoCon school in this race as well as proving that we deserve a regional ranking. We beat all the SoCon teams and took down 8 teams that were regionally ranked coming into the meet. I think this was a very good day for our men."
Koech, who broke the previous school record earlier this season, broke that record by 25 seconds on Saturday as he finished in 34th place with a time of 24:29.47. Joey Thompson was right behind him as he finished in 36th place in a time of 24:32.79.
AJ Savoia also broke his previous personal-best by 10 seconds by running a 25:21.90.
On the women's side, Schnell broke the school record set in 2003 by nearly 15 seconds as she finished in 18th place in a time of 17:37.07.
"Again, the women executed our race strategy to perfection," said Nguyen. "We wanted them to get out hard because of the large size of the field. They did just that and ran a very strong race. Ashley looked great taking a top 20 spot in an extremely deep race and broke the school record by about 20 seconds. Shaina went under 18:00 for the first time. Tiffany Garber had a great race, running 30 seconds faster than her last race. The women's team is really coming together. We were the top SoCon team and took down a few regionally ranked teams. Overall, I am very, very pleased."
Shaina Sumney also ran a new personal-best as she finished under 18 minutes for the first time. Her time of 17:58.66 was good enough for 47th place.
The Spartans return to competition on Oct. 15 in their final tune-up before the SoCon Championships as they compete at the Royal Cross Country Challenge in Charlotte, N.C.
RUNNING MOCS STRUGGLE AT GREATER LOUISVILLE CLASSIC IN LARGE FIELD
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- With men's and women's teams from more than 97 schools competing in what is billed as the "largest college meet in the South", the Mocs faced a scary moment as many of the men's team ended up on the ground and injured finishing 19th in the Greater Louisville Classic.
With more than 320 runners in such close quarters, several lost their footing and hit the ground including four Chattanooga runners.
"It looks like we were in a knife fight," UTC Head Coach Bill Gautier said. "Lucas [Cotter] went down and stayed down. He'll end up with some stitches and Josh [Vasquez] has a bad cut on his knee. He probably shouldn't have gotten up."
Senior David Moore and sophomore transfer Nathan Wanuch were among the runners for UTC who hit the pitch and were trampled before they could return to the race, finishing near the middle of the pack. Vasquez (Kingsport, Tenn.) placed 169th with a time of 25:45.24 followed by Wanuch (25:46.32) while Moore (25:53.60) was 180th of the 323 runners who finished.
Senior Emmanuel Kirwa and junior Chris Berry were more fortunate getting out ahead of the group and finishing with a decent showing in the event. Kirwa finished the 8000 meter course in a time of 24:06.28 placing 15th while Berry was 30th with a time of 24:28.22 for the Mocs.
Louisville took first in the men's race with 97 points followed by Colorado School of Mines (155), Grand Valley State in third (172), Eastern Kentucky fourth with 260 points and Shippensburg placing fifth with 273 team points.
The Mocs scored 566 points and tied with Kentucky for 19th overall ahead of such schools as Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee State, Mississippi State and SoCon foe Elon. Meshack Koyiaki of Columbus State won the men's race with a time of 23:20.75.
On the women's side, there was trouble as well as junior Tara Gietema had to drop out on the advice of Gautier after her foot was stepped on and her shoe came off.
"I didn't want her to keep running with the risk of injuring her foot," Gautier said. "It's not safe."
Senior Anneli Uys was 37th in the women's 5K event with the women placing 24th. She ran the course in a time of 17:49.27. Shippensburg University's Neely Spence ran a course record 16:32.90 to pace the field.
Senior Shelley Taylor was 121st with a time of 18:48.18 followed by sophomore Mary Cumbee's 133rd place finished with a time of 18:51.24. Sophomore Kathryn Stuart was the Lady Mocs' fourth finisher with a time of 18:57.27 in the 150 spot while sophomore Heather Stuive finished out the scoring for UTC in the 182 spot with a time of 19:18.85.
Grand Valley State University edged Vanderbilt to claim top honors in the event with 106 points while the Commodores were second with 107. Georgia was third with 198 points and Shippensburg was fourth with 208. Western Kentucky rounded out the top five with 225 team points.
The Lady Mocs finished ahead of teams from Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee, Miami and SoCon foe Davidson.
"Many of our runners did well. It's just unfortunate that this happened," Gautier said. "I think if we could have kept our feet we would have done really well in the men's race. It was unfortunate that Tara couldn't finish either. While it seems like a bad experience, it was a good experience for us. I'm really proud of everyone."
Elon Cross Country Wraps Up Action at Louisville Classic
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Elon University men's and women's cross country squads wrapped up action at the Louisville Classic on Saturday morning, with both squads having impressive performances against some of the country's top competition. The men and women finished 25th and 18th as a team, respectively.
The Cardinals from Louisville claimed the title on the men's side in the field of 38 teams, while Grand Valley State finished first in the women's competition of 35 teams.
Senior Justin Gianni led the Phoenix men on the day, as he broke his personal record in the 8K for the second race in a row with a time of 24:52.67. Gianni broke his previous PR at the Elon Invitational on Sept.
18.
The Elon women also had an impressive showing, as six runners finished the 5K competition in under 19 minutes.
"Overall, I thought our men and women made major strides for our program today," said Elon head cross country coach Christine Engel. "Justin [Gianni] really stepped up for the second straight race and the women battled hard without our top runner, Emily Fournier."
Senior Matt Richardson was the next Elon harrier to cross the finish line behind Gianni's 73rd place finish, as his time of 25:32.71 was good for 146th overall.
Freshman Nick Schneider finished with a time of 25:34.78, while junior Conor O'Brien placed crossed the line with a time of 25:50.23 for the Phoenix.
For the women, true freshman Allyson Oram had a stellar competition for the Phoenix, placing 88th overall with a time of 18:27.48 to pace Elon.
Jackie Madden and Emily Tryon were the next Phoenix runners to cross the finish line, as they finished with times of 18:47.20 and 18:47.26, respectively.
Sophomore Sullivan Parkes was the next Phoenix harrier to finish with a mark of 18:50.52.
Senior Catherine Rossi and sophomore Morgan Denecke finished behind Parkes with times of 18:53.48 and 18:54.11, respectively.
The Elon cross country team is back in action on Friday, Oct. 15, for the Royal Cross Country Challenge in Charlotte, N.C.
Davidson Women's Cross Country Competes at Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Senior Heather Conarroe led the Wildcat women's cross country team in action at the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic Saturday afternoon.
Conarroe finished 69th overall with a time of 18:20.05, followed by classmate Lauren Childs, who was 107th with a time of 18:40.27.
Senior Sarah Cline (140th, 18:53.53), sophomore Natalie Atabek (167th, 19:08.73), freshman Megan Mavity (178th, 19:13.84) also factored into the scoring for the Wildcat women, who finished in 27th place as a team (661 points).
Grand Valley State University finished in first place with 106 points behind five top- 50 finishes to just edge Vanderbilt (107). Georgia (198), Shippensburg (208) and Western Kentucky (225) rounded out the top five.
The Wildcats also sent runners to the Charlotte Invitational Friday evening, where freshman Lydia Macaliley (109th, 19:55.90) paced Davidson to a 21st-place finish (600 points). Freshman Tia Atkins (162nd, 20:59.60), junior Alyssa Moudy (170th, 21:12.40), senior Sarah Frederick (191st, 21:54.10) and freshman Olivia Goolsby (199th, 22:13.1) also scored for Davidson.
After a weekend off, the Wildcats will return to action when they travel to the Royal Cross Country Challenge at Charlotte's McAlpine Park Saturday, Oct. 15, and the USC Upstate Invitational Sunday, Oct. 16.
Hopkins Breaks Davidson Men's Cross Country 8K Record
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Sophomore Ryan Hopkins broke his own Davidson cross country record, completing the E.P. Tow Sawyer State Park 8K course in 24:07.48 to lead the Wildcat men to a 15th place finish with 476 points in a field of 38 teams at the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic.
Hopkins finished in 24:19.02 at the Clemson Invitational two weeks ago, besting the Davidson all-time 8K best set by Lance Harden in the 2009 running of the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic of 24:43.42.
Hopkins record time placed him 18th. Senior Charlie Schmitt also bested Harden's 2009 time, finishing 46th in 24:41.18.
Junior Ian Tupper finished in 25:20.22, and was followed by sophomore Demetrios Pagonis in 25:25.66 and freshman Grayam Sailor-Tynes in 25:56.84 to round out the top-five scoring group.
Davidson entered the meet ranked 11th in the Southeast, and finished behind team champion Louisville (No. 7 Southeast) and fourth-place finishers Eastern Kentucky (No. 6 Southeast). Southern Conference foe UNCG placed just ahead of the 'Cats in 14th place with 451 points.
Missouri, ranked 15th in the Midwest, finished 17th. SoCon foe Chattanooga placed 19th, Kentucky (No. 15 Southeast) was 19th and another SoCon opponent, Elon, was 33rd.
Meshack Koyiaki of Columbus St placed first individually in 23:20.75.
Davidson will send runners to the Royal Cross Country Challenge in Charlotte, N.C. Friday, Oct. 15 and the USC Upstate Invitational Saturday, Oct. 16.