Georgia Southern finishes third at College of Charleston
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Freshman Rebecca Greenwall (Athens, Ga.) was the first of three Eagle runners to finish in the top 20 Saturday morning, crossing the line in fifth place overall (18:45), while posting the second best time for the 5K in Georgia Southern history. In the Georgia Southern record books, only Brittney Swick's time of 18:36 recorded at the 2002 Auburn Bank Invitational is faster.
The Eagles placed five runners in the top 32, propelling them to a third place overall finish. Twin sister Rachel Greenwall (Athens, Ga.) finished in 14th place (19:25), followed by senior Sara Curry (Lawrenceville, Ga.) who posted a time of 19:31, which placed her 17th.
Megan Sullivan (Huntersville, N.C.) was one of four Eagle freshmen running in only their second collegiate competition. Her time of 20:10 placed her 23rd, followed by senior Brittani Martin (Alpharetta, Ga.) who finished 32nd (20:54).
Freshman Lindsay Mullican (Lancaster, Pa.) and senior Azura Robbilard (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) finished in 40th and 43rd place, respectively.
The Eagles travel to Charlotte on Friday, September 30 where they will try to improve on a fourteenth place showing in last year's Charlotte Invitational.
Elon women first, men second at College of Charleston Invite
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Elon men's and women's cross country teams opened up the 2011 season in spectacular fashion with the women earning first (17 points) and the men second (41 points) at the College of Charleston Invitational today, Sept. 10. Junior Morgan Denecke, who finished first in the women's 5K and set a new school-record time of 17:56 highlighted the meet for the Phoenix, held at Trophy Lakes.
Denecke, followed by sophomore Allyson Oram (18:12), junior Emily Tryon (18:16) and freshman Haylee Dawe (18:22) took the top four spots in the women's race, giving the team the win by 37 points. Oram, Tryon and Dawe all set new personal bests placing them fourth through sixth on the women's 5K all-time performance list.
Junior Christine Pacewicz earned seventh with a time of 18:53, followed by personal bests from redshirt freshman Julie Hart (18:54) and sophomore Amanda Parker (19:04) who finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
The Cougars of CofC finished second behind the Phoenix women with 54 total points. Georgia Southern (54 points), UNC-Pembroke (122 points), The Citadel (141 points), Charleston Southern (153 points), South Carolina State (181 points) and South Carolina-Beaufort (215 points) placed third through eighth.
Freshman Luis Vargas earned second on the men's side with a time of 25:29 that ranks fourth on the men's 8K all-time performance list. Sophomore Ben Perron finished in 25:55 for fifth, while senior Conor O'Brien (26:15) and freshman Ari Rothschild (26:17) rounded out the top ten taking ninth and 10th.
Finishing 15th was freshman Adam Bernstein with a time of 26:44. Senior Clay Sankey finished with a time of 26:49 to earn 16th, while junior Ranley Gousse took 18th after crossing the finish line in 26:57.
College of Charleston captured the title on the men's side with 33 points. Behind Elon was UNC-Pembroke (81 points), The Citadel (109 points), Charleston Southern (126 points) and South Carolina State (167 points).
Both squads will return to action next Saturday, Sept. 17, as the Phoenix hosts the third-annual Elon Invitational on the Elon University campus.
Chattanooga men first, women fourth at Moccasin Bend Race Course
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2011 season at home with the annual PowerAde Invitational at the Moccasin Bend Race Course Friday evening. Senior Chris Berry (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and sophomore Lucas Cotter (Collierville, Tenn.) led the Mocs to a decisive win in the opener.
Berry ran the 5-kilometer course in a time of 15:00, three seconds off the pace set by winner Justus David of Middle Tennessee. Cotter, the 2010 SoCon Freshman of the Year, cruised across the finish line in third place with a time of 15:11.
Junior Nathan Wanuch (Missisauga, Ontario) was the Mocs third runner across the line, with a fifth place finish at 15:24. Junior Mark Cole (McKenzie, Tenn.) placed ninth with a time of 15:48 followed by senior Josh Vasquez (Kingsport, Tenn.) in 12th with a time of 15:51. Sophomore Drew Austell ran the 3.2 mile course in a time of 16:26.
The Mocs won with a score of 31 points followed by Middle Tennessee a distant second with 55 points. The Blue Raiders just edged mid-state rival Lipscomb who cross the line with 56 points. UT Martin was fourth with 99 points followed by Jacksonville State (108) and Tennessee State (176).
On the flip side, the Lady Mocs' roster was filled with inexperience and that showed with the Mocs rolling to a fourth place finish behind winner Lipscomb (21) Middle Tennessee (64) and Jacksonville State's 65.
Gietema, of Knoxville, Tenn., placed 10th for the Lady Mocs with a time of 11:41 over the two-mile course. The Lady Mocs' only other returning runner, junior Morgan Buchanan (Johnson City, Tenn.), was the second UTC runner across the line placing 13th in the scoring column with a time of 12:08.
Freshman Sarah White-Woerner (Chattanooga, Tenn.) was 22nd overall followed by freshman Keely Stewart (Winchester, Tenn.) in 25th and Jenna Nick (Columbia, Tenn.) placing 29th.
Chattanooga finished ahead of UT Martin's 118 points and Tennessee State with 161 points.
The Running Mocs will travel to Nashville for the Vanderbilt Commodore Classic on Saturday, Sept. 17 with a 9 a.m. start. Results will be available on GoMocs.com.