Western Carolina Men
2nd, Women 5th at Royals Challenge
The Western Carolina cross country teams had one of its best
performances of the 2012 season as the Catamounts put three men and three women
in the top 20 of both the men’s and women’s events. Sophomore Jocelyn Keen was
the top finisher for all WCU runners as the Fuquay Varina, N.C., native placed
fifth overall, the second collegiate finisher behind Florida State’s Jessica
Butler. Senior Josey Weaver again paced the men as he placed sixth overall with
his new school record time in the 8000m of 24:16.7.
The men put four runners in the top 14, led by the senior
Weaver, to earn their best finish of the season, second place. The men ran an
average time of 25:05.08 to finish behind Liberty who placed four runners in
the top five and another in the top nine. More telling than the second place
finish is the fact that as a team, the WCU men placed ahead of conference
rivals Elon and Wofford.
Weaver – who crushed his previous top time in the 8k by more
than 30 seconds - finished within a second of the fourth and fifth place
finishers as the trio put on a show heading towards the finish line. Jeremie
Bourget of Liberty and conference-rival Luis Vargas of Elon crossed the line
just ahead of Weaver, finishing in 24:15.7 and 24:16.0. Sophomore Travis Alfaro
continues to show his growth from his freshman season as he ran his new
personal best time, 24:26.5. His previous best was 25:09 which he ran earlier
this season at the Winthrop Invitational.
Seniors Nolan Clark and Chase Fisher also ran personal bests
and finished in the top 14. Clark ran just outside of the top 10 in eleventh
place, running a 25:04.7. Fisher’s 25:08.7 earned the Concord, N.C., native a
14th place finish. Freshman Perry Cabean ran a 26:28.8 to place 53rd, to keep
the string of new personal records alive. Senior Garrett West finished just
behind Cabean in 57th with his time of 26:36.0 rounded out the Catamounts’ top
six runners.
On the women’s side, Jocelyn Keen ran the second-fastest
women’s 5000m time ever in WCU history with her 17:46.8 to finish fifth
overall. Senior Mara Smith – who holds the WCU 5000m record of 17:35 – finished
second for the Catamounts, placing eighth overall with her time of 17:59.1.
Sophomore Aleshia Reese rounded out the top 16 for Western Carolina with her
time of 18:11.3, finishing 16th overall.
Her time was a minute faster than the 5k she ran at the Winthrop
Invitational nearly a month ago.
Junior Kaylan Lance placed 65th overall with her time of
19:08.5 while freshman Kaitlyn Shetler finished in 19:20.9 to finish 71st. Lena
Elliott rounded out the top six runners for WCU with her time of 19:24.7,
finishing 74th.
The women’s team finished fifth overall, averaging the 5000m
in 18:29.34.
Western Carolina returns to action in two weeks at the
Southern Conference Championship, held in Charleston, S.C., on Oct. 27.
Davidson Women 2nd
at Royals Challenge
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Presley Parkes finished sixth overall to
lead the Davidson women’s cross country team to a second-place finish at the
Royal Cross Country Challenge, as hosted by Queens University at McAlpine Park
on Friday evening.
Parkes ran a 17:52.5 on the 5k course and was one of three
Wildcats to finish inside the top 20, helping Davidson accrue just 69 points.
Duke took home top honors with 56 points, while Florida State finished a spot
behind the ‘Cats and in third with 77 points. Liberty was fourth with 89
points, while SoCon foes Western Carolina and Wofford took fifth and sixth,
respectively.
Manya Swick and Natalie Atabek joined Parkes in the top 20,
taking ninth and 19th, respectively. Swick finished in 18:01.6 while Atabek
crossed the line in 18:14.7.
Just outside of the top 20 was Brigid Behrens, who clocked
in at 18:17.2 for 22nd place overall. Olivia Menden was close behind, running
an 18:22.5 for 26th place. Erin Osment crossed the line 35th in a time of
18:30.8, while Mary Dombrowski ran an 18:48.3 for 48th place.
In 64th place for the ‘Cats was Sarah Paddon, who finished
in 19:07.7. She was followed by Annamarie Armstead in 73rd place in a time of
19:22.8. Ali Cobb (19:45.1) was 94th and Maggie Rickard (19:49.4) was 99th for
Davidson, while Lauren Carter ran a 20:09.5. Sophia Smith rounded things out
for the ‘Cats with a 20:32.9.
The squad will take a week off before heading to Charleston,
S.C., on Oct. 27 for the 2012 Southern Conference Cross Country Championships.
The meet will be hosted by the College of Charleston and The Citadel.
Elon Men 4th,
Women 7th at Royals Challenge
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Elon cross country runner Luis Vargas
established a new school record to help the men’s program to a fourth place
standing at the Queens Royal XC Challenge at McAlpine Creek on Friday
afternoon. Flores ran a time of 24:16.0 in the meet a crossed the line in fifth
out of 189 competitors.
Vargas previously held the school mark in the 8K with a time
of 24:49.07 that he set in last season’s Southern Conference championships. The
Angier, N.C. native improved on that time by nearly 30 seconds in today’s
performance.
The men were two points off from finishing in the top three
of the 21-team field, just edged out by Spartanburg Methodist 98-96.
Ben Parron was the next to cross the line on the men’s side
as the junior had a time of 25:29.4 and finished 20th overall. Parron just
edged out teammate Ari Rothschild who came in 22nd with a mark of 24:30.3.
Junior James Stevenson and sophomore Adam Bernstein also
crossed the line a close distance from each other at 32nd and 35th place
respectively. Stevenson ran the course in a time of 25:46.5 while Bernstein was
three seconds off pace at 25:49.9.
Reed Payne finished in the top 50 of the meet with a time of
26:06 and 43rd overall. Senior Sean Martyn would also get under the 27-minute
mark with a time of 26:34.1.
On the women’s side, the maroon and gold was seventh overall
in the 25-team field with Erin MacBeth leading the way with a time of 18:41.9
in the 5K race. The women’s program was competing without its normal top seven
runners as that group prepares for the NCAA Pre-National meet tomorrow, Oct.
13, in Louisville, Ky.
MacBeth was in 41st overall out of 217 runners. Teammate
Carolin McCaslin was the next for the Phoenix at a mark of 18:51.2 and 50th
overall just five seconds ahead of Jenny Gallagher, who crossed the line at the
53rd position with a time of 18:56.4.
The remaining members of the squad will be on the course
tomorrow at Louisville at E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park. Elon will have runners
competing in both the women’s red and black races, scheduled to begin tomorrow
at 10:15 and 11:30 a.m. respectively.
Appalachian State Men
Fourth, Women T-Fourth at Blue Ridge Open
BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University men’s cross
country team took home a fourth place finish at the Blue Ridge Open this
afternoon.
Senior Michael Lilley paced the Mountaineers as he finished
11th overall with a personal-best 25:00.62, while Josh Cox followed behind with
a 20th overall finish crossing the line with a personal-best, 25:09.20.
Mitch McLeod took home a third place finish for the Black
and Gold and a 33rd overall finish as he clocked a 25:21.72, followed closely
by Brian Graves who scored his first points for the Apps this season, finishing
36th overall with a 25:26.18.
James Howard-Smith notched points for Appalachian for his
second straight meet as he finished 39th overall with a 25:28.54.
Appalachian State finished fourth overall in a field of 16
teams, scoring 110 points on the afternoon. Wake Forest took home the first
place finish with 31 points, while George Mason came in second with 43 points
and East Tennessee State finished third with a 107 points.
Appalachian Stat will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 27
when they travel to Mt. Pleasant, S.C. to compete for its 15th Southern
Conference title. The Mountaineers will look to win its first title since its
six-year reign ended in 2010. The meet is slated to start at 10 a.m.
BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University women’s cross
country team competed in its last home meet of the 2012 slate this afternoon at
Don Kennedy Fields.
The underclassman had a chance to lead the Mountaineers at
the Blue Ridge Open this afternoon, as the Apps upperclassman are headed to
Louisville, Ky. for Pre-Nationals on Saturday, October 13.
Freshman Dana Cox led the way for the Black and Gold as she
finished 21st overall with an 18:44.85 and Shelby Williams followed close
behind crossing the line 23rd overall with an 18:46.71.
Jenna Williamson and Meaghan McCauley brought home third and
fourth place finishes for Appalachian as Williamson clocked an 18:54.28 for a
26th overall finish and McCauley crossed the line 27th overall with an
18:55.12.
Freshman Samantha Campanaro rounded out the scoring for the
Mountaineers as she crossed the line with an 18:59.04 for a 32nd overall
finish.
Appalachian State tied for fourth with VMI as both teams
scored 115 points. Wake Forest took home a first place finish behind junior
Nicole Irving who led the field of 121 runners, while Belmont came in second
with 78 points and High Point finished third with 94 points.
The Apps will return to action Saturday, Oct. 13 when they
compete at Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Ky. The Mountaineers enter the race
ranked No. 8 in the Southeast region and are off to the best start they have
seen in 10 years. The meet is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
Wofford Women 6th,
Men 8th at Royals Challenge
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Wofford women’s cross country team
took sixth place while the men’s cross country team finished in eighth place at
the Royals Cross Country Challenge Saturday.
For the women, Alissa Williams finished 24th with a time of
18:19.2, eight second shy of the Wofford school record. Nicole Klasnic followed in 25th with a time
of 18:21.9, while Alyssa Burkert took 40th with a time of 18:41.1. Marello Angello finished 45th after crossing
the finish line in 18:43.6, and Sam Hughes finished just outside the top 50 in
51st with a time of 18:53.2. It was the
first time in Wofford history all five scored runners have finished under the
19-minute mark.
On the men’s side, Ryan Doyle finished with a time of
26:10.1 in 45th place. Russell Baker
followed in 64th with a time of 26:42.2, and Alex Michaels was two places back
in 66th place with a time of 26:44.7.
Justin Whitaker took 85th with a time of 27:20.8, and Matt Menard
finished in 87th with a time of 27:23.4.
Wofford returns to the course with the Southern Conference
Championship on October 27 in Mount Pleasant, S.C.