Chattanooga Men 6^th, Women 17^th at NCAA South Regional

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior Nathan Wanuch (Mississauga, Ontario) led the men’s cross country team to a sixth place finish at the NCAA South Region Championships hosted by Florida State at the Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla., moving the Mocs up from its 12th place prerace ranking.

Wanuch placed 20th overall and will await word on a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Championships at the E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 17. He ran with the front group throughout the race and finished with a time of 31:10.4 and earned all-region honors.

Senior Lucas Cotter (Collierville, Tenn.), who has nursed a foot injury since last spring’s outdoor season, placed 29th in the race with a time of 31:33.6

Freshman Paul Stuart (Brentwood, Tenn.) was the second freshman across the line in the South Region race placing 41st overall while classmate Trevor Janssen (Jordan Station, Ontario) placed 55th with a time of 32:13.0.

Sophomores John Gilpin (Nashville, Tenn.) and Drew Austell (Memphis, Tenn.) helped the Mocs to climb in the region rankings with strong finishes for the Mocs.

The Mocs were the top team in Tennessee at the Region which includes schools from Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Florida State won the race on their home course placing all five scoring runners in the Top 11. Georgia was second and snared the second of two automatic bids from the region.

Florida placed third and has a shot at a team at-large bid while Georgia Tech was fourth followed by Mississippi State.

Behind the Mocs were East Tennessee State in seventh, Tennessee was eighth and Memphis was ninth. Other teams from the Volunteer State were Lipscomb (16th), Vanderbilt (22nd) and Tennessee Tech (24th). Southern Conference foe Samford placed 18th in the event.

The Lady Mocs, led by sophomore Amanda Sumner (Bristol, Conn.) placed 17th out of 29 teams at the regional. Sumner placed 51st in the field of 205 runners with a time of 21:19.8.

Stewart, a sophomore out of Winchester, Tenn., who fell in the women’s race at the SoCon Championships placed 99th with a time of 22:07.8 on the 6K course. She was behind freshman Teghan Henderson (Pickering, Ontario) who was 79th with a time of 21:50.1.

Senior Kathryn Stuart (Brentwood, Tenn.) was the fourth UTC runner across the line with a time of 22:27.8 followed by senior Morgan Buchanan (Johnson City, Tenn.) with a time of 23:14.0. Helenka Kis was the final UTC to cross the line with a time of 25:36.1.

Florida State swept the region with the women taking top honors with all five scoring runners placing in the Top 10. Vanderbilt was second followed by Georgia, Florida and Mississippi.

The Mocs will begin preparing for the upcoming Indoor Track and Field season that is set to start off in December while Wanuch awaits his fate.

Appalachian State Women 11^th, Men 13^th at NCAA Southeast Regional

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Appalachian State University men’s cross country finished 13th at the 2012 Southeast Regional Championships.

The Mountaineers were paced by senior Sean Soderman who crossed the line 44th overall in the 10,000m event. Soderman posted a new personal-best as he ran a 31:11.55, while senior Michael Lilley finished second for the Apps, crossing the line at a personal-best 31:42.84.

Redshirt freshman Kyle McFoy scored his first point for the Black and Gold this season as he finished third with a 32:08.77 and James Howard-Smith finished fourth for App State with a 32:21.51 in his first 10,000m race.

Josh Cox rounded out the scoring for Appalachian as he crossed the line at 32:32.34, which was a new personal-bet for the redshirt sophomore.

All five runners posted new personal-best times, crossing the line all under 35 minutes in the 10,000m event.

The Apps finished ahead of all Southern Conference teams who competed in the Southeast regional, including No. 15 UNCG.  Virginia took home the first place finish, scoring 64 points, while Eastern Kentucky finished second with 75 points.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Appalachian State University women’s cross country team finished 11th of 37 teams at the 2012 Southeast Regional Championships this afternoon.

The senior duo of Amanda Hamilton and Sarah Williamson paced the Mountaineers as Hamilton crossed the line 27th overall with a 21:23.88 and Williamson posted a career-best 21:54.17.

Junior Justine Stocks finished third for App State, with a new personal-best 22:01.94.

Juniors Kaitlyn Cagle and Allison Cook rounded out the scoring for the Apps as Cagle crossed the line at 22:03.38 and Cook posted a 22:28.68.

Appalachian defeated all Southern Conference opponents, finishing with 321 points on the afternoon. Duke took home the first place finish as the scored 81 points and William and Mary finished second with 123 points.

Furman Women 17^th, Men 18^th at NCAA Southeast Regional

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Senior Wilkerson Given placed 20th with a time of 30:39.98 in the men’s 10K to lead the Furman cross country teams at the 2012 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships Friday in Charlotte, N.C.  The Furman men’s team scored 435 points for 18th place, while the women’s team scored 485 points for 17th place in the team competition.

Sophomore Tripp Hurt turned in a time of 31:04.05 for 34th place, while junior Jack Klecker placed 107th with a time of 32:34.84.  Junior Tyler Greathouse finished 123rd with a time of 32:45.20, and sophomore Jack Morgan rounded out the Paladin scorers in 151st place at 33:30.73.  Freshman Bradley Gossett finished the course in 33:38.73 for 157th place.

In the women’s 6K, junior Catherine Burton paced the Paladins with a time of 22:17.62 for 88th place.  Sophomores Sinead Haughey (22:22.01) and Blair Burke (22:23.00) finished back-to-back in 92nd and 93rd place, respectively, and senior Emily Wirzba took 96th place with a time of 22:26.01.  Senior Hannah Robinson completed the Furman scorers in 116th place at 22:38.64, and junior Kacie Schoen finished 149th with a time of 23:06.08. 

Furman will open the 2013 indoor track season in January.

Elon Women 16^th, Men 23^rd at NCAA Southeast Regional

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Elon men’s cross country runner Luis Vargas established a new school record at the Southeast Regional meet on Friday afternoon, Nov. 9. Vargas ran for a time of 31:35.37 in the men’s 10K race at the course at McAlpine Park, pacing the men to a 23rd overall finish. The women finished 16th overall, the best for program at the regional.

Vargas posted a 61st overall finish in the event out of 228 competitors and now holds the record in both the 8K and 10K performances all-time at Elon. The Angier, N.C., native, who earned the program’s first All-SoCon first team honor two weeks ago at the conference championships, ended his sophomore campaign as the men’s top runner in five meets this season.

 Three other runners on the men’s side also established new personal-records in the race for the Phoenix. Ben Perron ran for a time of 32:51.33, now fifth best on the all-time list, and placed at 127th. Ari Rothschild also ran under the 33-minute mark with a time of 32:57.64, eighth-best on the performance list, and crossed the line at 131st. Adam Bernstein jumped into the top-10 list with his time of 33:06.60 and was 136th.

James Stevenson (33:48.82, 165th), Sean Martyn (34:29.13, 192nd), and Ryan Gwaltney (34:49.47, 197th) rounded out the men’s team scores for Elon.

On the women’s side, Allyson Oram was the top runner for the Phoenix with a time of 21:55.27 and placing 58th overall out of 255 runners. Freshman Elyse Bierut ended her strong freshman campaign with an 82nd finish and a time of 22:14.98 in the race. Haylee Dawe ran a new personal-best with a time of 22:15.89 and was 85th. Emily Tryon was the fourth female runner to cross the line for Elon with her time of 22:28.26 and was 98th overall.

Tereza Novotna (22:40.12, 118th), Christine Pacewicz (22:41.66, 121st) and Kaitlin Snapp also competed and scored for the maroon and gold.

Virginia took home the men’s team title with 64 points while Duke won the women’s race with 81. Two runners from the Bluegrass State took individual medalist honors with Eastern Kenticky’s Soufiane Bouchikhi on the men’s side and Kentucky’s Cally Macumber for the women.

Davidson Men 19^th at NCAA Southeast Regional

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Led by senior Demetrios Pagonis, Davidson placed 19th in the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Southeast Regional Friday afternoon in McAlpine Park.

Pagonis completed the 10K course in 31 minutes, 9.17 seconds to place 42nd. His time ranks as the third best for a Davidson runner on a 10K cross country course. Classmate Vincent Weir followed in 32:12.47 to place 86th.

The field consisted of 34 teams and 228 runners, with Virginia winning the team championship and Soufiane Bouchikhi winning individually in 29:32.37.

Junior Grayam Sailor-Tynes was Davidson’s third finisher in 32:35.34 in 95th place, and was followed by sophomore Sal del Giudice in 32:19.11, freshman Daniel Samet in 32:37.31 and senior Wes Reynolds in 32:44.52.

The race concludes Davidson’s cross country season and the ‘Cats will turn their attention to the upcoming indoor track season.

Wofford Women 31^st, Men 34^th at NCAA Southeast Regional

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Wofford men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the NCAA Southeast Regional with the women finishing in 31st and the men taking 34th.

Alissa Williams led the women’s team with a 22:55.70, while Nicole Klasnic followed with a 23:11.30.  Alyssa Burket finished 20 seconds behind with a time of 23:17.87, and Sam Hughes followed with a 23:34.37.  Katie Kessler was the final Wofford runner to score with a time of 23:49.75.

In the men’s race, Ryan Doyle paced the Terriers with a time of 33:55.49 over the, while Russell Baker ran a time of 34:54.22.  Alex Michaels followed with a 35.53.70, and Hunter McGahee ran a time of 37:00.91.  Justin Whitaker was the final Wofford runner to cross the finish line with a time of 37:29.65.

The regional completes the Wofford cross country season as they team will prepare for the indoor track season.

UNCG Men 14^th, Women 27^th at NCAA Southeast Regionals

GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG junior Paul Chelimo (Chebiemit, Kenya/Chebiemit Boys School) and sophomore Paul Katam (Eldoret, Kenya/Sacho) both qualified for the NCAA Championships after posting top-five finishes in the 2012 NCAA Southeast Cross Country Regional at McAlpine Park in Charlotte Friday afternoon. This marks the second straight time the men's program has seen two UNCG runners qualify for the national championship race.

Chelimo finished second overall for the second straight season as he turned in a personal-best and UNCG-record time of 29:36.51 in the 10,000-meter race, finishing just behind Eastern Kentucky's Soufiane Bouchikhi who turned in a time of 29:32.37. Chelimo trimmed almost three seconds from his time last year at the Southeast Regional (29:39.1) when he became the first UNCG men's cross country runner to advance to the NCAA championship.

Katam earned his first-ever invitation to the NCAA championship race by placing fifth overall with a personal-best time of 29:43.62. The top four individuals not on the top two teams qualify for the national championship. He surpassed his previous career-mark in the 10,000-meter race by 1:13 over his time at the same race last year as a freshman when he posted a 15th place finish (30.29.90).

Junior Abraham Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya/Kipkabus) was the Spartans' third finisher, placing 73rd overall with a time of 31:49.35. Kemboi also surpassed his previous career-best time, cutting 12 seconds off his time last year at the regional (32:01.4).

The Spartans as a team finished 14th out of 34 teams in the high-caliber field as they posted a team score of 397, finishing just four points shy of Southern Conference champion Appalachian State. Virginia won the regional with 64 total points as all five of its counting scores were in the top 20 while Eastern Kentucky placed second with 75 points.

Junior Tyron Alston (Mebane, N.C./Eastern Alamance) turned in a time of 33:37.87 to finish in 154th place overall, also improving his career-best time by 1:02. Senior Taylor Day (Cornelius, N.C./Hopewell) rounded out the top five with a time of 33:48.76.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – UNCG senior Chelsea Sumney (Washington, Pa./Trinity) placed 15th overall at the 2012 NCAA Southeast Cross Country Regional, posting a personal-record time of 21.00.91 in the 6,000-meter race Friday at McAlpine Park in Charlotte.

Sumney improved 16 spots from her finish last year, while cutting 10 seconds off her personal-best time of 21:11.30 set at Louisville. She now awaits word on a possible at-large bid into the NCAA Championships, which will be announced Saturday. The two teams and the top four individuals in today's race automatically advance to the NCAA Championships while at-large selections are awarded to 13 teams and two individuals by the NCAA Division I Track and Field subcommittee.

The Spartans posted a 27th place team finish with 754 points in the highly-competitive field that included 37 programs. Duke won the Southeast Regional with 81 total points as four of its top five finishers placed in the top-40, while William & Mary took home second with 123 points. Kentucky's Cally Macumber won the race individually in a time of 20:10.98.

Freshman Lydia Saina (Eldoret, Kenya/Kapkenda Girls School) was the Spartans' second finisher, posting a time of 23:18.83 to finish 161st. Junior Kelly Montague (Garner, N.C./West Johnston) finished one place past Saina in 162nd, with a season-best time of 23:19.90.

Freshman Katlyn Ayers (Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) turned in a career-best performance of 24:09.90 in the 6,000-meter course to finish 206th place overall. Ayers cut over 21 seconds off her previous best set at the Pre-Nationals in Louisville (24:31.60). Classmate Emilee Hensel (Apex, N.C./Middle Creek) rounded out the Spartans' top-five performers with a time of 24:23.63 to finish 210th overall.