Chelimo Wins at Southeast Regional
GREENSBORO, N.C. – For the second straight year, UNCG men’s cross country program will send two runners to the NCAA Cross Country National Championships as senior Paul Chelimo (Chebiemit, Kenya/Chebiemit Boys School) and junior Paul Katam (Eldoret, Kenya/Sacho) qualified for the pinnacle race Friday afternoon, earning two of the four individual spots from the Southeast Region. The University of Virginia hosted the 10,000-meter race at the Panorama Farms course.

Chelimo became the program’s first ever NCAA Regional Cross Country Champion as he won the 10,000-meter race with a personal-record and UNCG program-record time of 28:37.30. He edged out N.C. State’s Andrew Colley by just 1.4 seconds to claim his first championship after finishing second in the NCAA Regionals the past two seasons. Chelimo held the lead after 5,000-meters, but was second at the 8,000-meter mark before tracking down Colley at the line. Last year’s, regional champion Soufiane Bouchikhi of Eastern Kentucky placed third with a time of 28:43.60.

Chelimo’s time of 28:37.30 trims almost a minute off his previous program-record time of 29:29.80 set last year at the NCAA Championships where he finished seventh overall. The two-time cross country All-America runner will be one of the top contenders in the 2013 NCAA Championships held Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

"It was a really good performance," Chelimo told the News & Record. "I'm peaking right now. I'm in good shape right now.The big difference (earning a PR by 52.5 seconds) is I'm not in pain. Last year I couldn't do any workouts (iliotibial band issues)."

Katam qualified for his second NCAA Championship race, placing seventh overall with a time of 29:00.90. He was the fourth and final individual qualifier from the region. The top two teams qualify then the next four top individuals advance to the championship race. Katam’s time of 29:00.90 set a personal-record, trimming 43 seconds off his previous time of 29:43.62 set at the 2012 NCAA Regionals. Last year, he placed sixth at the regional and turned in a 77^th place showing in the National Championship.

Chelimo and Katam led the Spartans to an 11^th place team showing in the NCAA Regional in the 35-team field. Eastern Kentucky won the event with 58 total points while host Virginia was second with 96 points.

Junior Dylan Belles posted his top time of his career, clocking in at 30:31.0 to place 56^th overall. Senior Abraham Kemboi concluded his cross country career with a 69^th place showing in a time of 30:52.40. Kemboi trimmed almost an entire minute off his previous time of 31:49.35 set at last year’s NCAA Regional race.

 

Henderson Finishes Third at South Regional
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Teghan Henderson finished less than two seconds out of first place the NCAA Cross Country South Region Meet Friday morning and earned a spot in the NCAA National Championships.

Henderson, the Southern Conference Runner of the Year, earned all-region honors with her effort and led the Lady Mocs to a 14^th place region finish. She covered the 6-kilometer course, her longest this season, in a time of 20:00.42 and placed third overall. Florida State’s Colleen Quigley took top honors with a time of 19:58.55 followed by Florida’s Cory McGee who edged Henderson at the finish line with a time of 20:00.19.

In the men’s race, senior Lucas Cotter closed out his cross country career at UTC with all-region honors finishing 17^th overall. He covered the 10K course in a time of 30:35.21 and led the Mocs to an 11^th place finish at the region meet.

Senior Mark Cole placed 42^nd overall out of 173 runners with a time of 31:07.46 and sophomore Paul Stuart was 55^th with a time of 31:30.05. John Gilpin was the fourth Chattanooga runner across the line with a time of 31:40.94 followed by junior Trevor Janssen who placed 87^th with a time of 32:00.20.

The Mocs were just 15 points out of eighth place and five behind Georgia Tech.

In the women’s race, sophomore Rebecca Greenwall (Bogart, Ga.) finished 85^th out of 194 runners with a time of 21:53.36 and junior Keeley Stewart (Winchester, Tenn.) was 95^th with a time of 21:59.01. Freshman Jessica York (Normandy, Tenn.) was the fourth Lady Moc across the line with a time of 22:19.31 and Amanda Cotter (Bristol, Conn.) was the final scoring Chattanooga runner with a time of 22:51.47.

Cotter was running with Greenwall but fell along the course, dropping her from the front fifth of runners to nearly the back.

 

Furman Women Finish Eighth, Men Fifteenth at NCAA Regional
EARLYSVILLE, VA. -- Freshman Allie Buchalski placed 10th with a time of 20:43.4 and fellow rookie Grace Tinkey finished 16th after posting a time of 20:58.9 in the women’s 6K to pace the Furman cross country teams at the 2013 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships Friday at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va.  

The Furman women’s team scored 273 points for eighth place in the team competition, moving up nine spots from last year’s 17th-place finish.  The Paladins, who defeated both in-state rivals South Carolina and Clemson, garnered the top finish among all teams from South Carolina.  

Junior Sinead Haughey claimed 45th place with a time of 21:38.8.  Freshman Laura Miller recorded a time of 22:27.0, finishing 95th, and fellow rookie Julia Rodriguez was 107th with a time of 22:37.5.  Senior Kacie Schoen placed 191st with a time of 23:40.3, while senior Catherine Burton tallied a time of 23:59.8, finishing 208th.

The Paladin men’s team scored 428 points to place 15th, gaining three spots from the team’s 2012 showing.  Furman was also the top men’s team among competitors from South Carolina, defeating rival Clemson by 62 points.

Freshmen claimed the top three spots for the Paladins in the men’s 10K race.  Brock Baker placed 65th with a time of 30:49.5, followed by Tanner Hinkle in 76th place at 30:59.9.  Troy Reeder crossed the line in 31:14.6, claiming 93rd place.  

Senior Jack Klecker finished 97th after registering a time of 31:20.8, while rookie Nate Riech was 102nd with a time of 31:25.8.  Freshman Connor Sorrells took 129th place after recording a time of 31:57.3 on the course, while junior Tripp Hurt rounded out the Paladin squad with a time of 33:07.5 for 183rd place.

 

Samford Competes at NCAA  Regional
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Samford cross country competed at the NCAA South Regional Friday afternoon, hosted by the University of Alabama.  Adam Jones was the lead Bullodog in the men’s 10k while Rachel Wooten and Ansley Bos competed in the women’s 6k.

In the men’s 10k, Jones was the Bulldogs’ highest finisher, placing 69th in 31:42.65.  Luke Weishaar trailed less than 20 seconds behind Jones, finishing 88th in 32:01.11, while Brandon Hazouri (98th, 32:17.06) rounded out Samford’s competitors in the top 100.  Lucas Sieb (104th, 32:24.09), Layton Dorsett (113th, 32:40.12) and James Graham (132nd, 33:26.13) were the remaining Bulldog competitors.

The Samford women only ran two individuals in the women’s 6k, as Wooten (113th, 22:12.24) and Bos (141st, 22:51.94) competed for the Bulldogs.  Because they did not run the minimum five competitors, Samford was not awarded a team score.

 

Elon Women Finish Ninth, Vargas Sets New School Record
EARLYSVILLE, Va. – Junior Luis Vargas established a new school-record and received all-region accolades while senior Allyson Oram also set a new program-record as the Elon University cross country teams competed at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships on Friday, Nov. 15 at the course on Panorama Farms, hosted by the University of Virginia. The Phoenix women finished ninth overall in the team standings, its highest finish ever, out of 39 teams.

 Vargas ran a time of 29:46.5 in the men’s 10K race and finished 22^nd out of 239 competitors. The Angier, N.C., native broke his previous school-record of 31:35.37 that he set at last year’s regional championships by nearly two minutes. He also became the program’s first athlete to earn All-Region honors.

Oram broke her previous school-record of 21:18.15 that she set earlier this season at the NCAA Pre-Nationals in the women’s 6K run. The Marlborough, Mass., native ran a time of 21:15.6 and finished 26^th out of 265 runners to help the Phoenix women improve on its 16^th place standing from a year ago in a region featuring one of the more competitive fields in the country with three nationally ranked teams.

Junior Tereza Novotna was the next female finisher for Elon with a new personal-best time of 21:48.1, the third-fastest on the all-time performance list, and 53rd overall finish. Sophomore Kaitlin Snapp joined Novotna on the program’s top-10 all-time performance list with her new personal-record mark of 22:03.6 in 68^th place followed by junior Haylee Dawe with a new personal-best time of 22:08.6 and a 70^th place standing.

Sophomore Elyse Bierut rounded out the team score with a time of 22:10.8 and was 74^th. Kimberly Johansen (22:16.0, 82^nd) and Jenny Gallagher (23:35.8, 188^th) also competed for Elon.

Junior Ari Rothschild was the next to cross the line for the Phoenix men with a new personal-best time of 31:58.4, good for a 132^nd place finish. Rothschild’s time is also now the second-best performance on the all-time performance list. Senior Nick Schneider also set a new personal-record with a time of 32.22.3 while freshman Ian O’Leary rounded out the male performers for Elon with a time of 33:20.6.

 

Western Carolina Competes at NCAA Regionals
Charlottesville, Va.  – The Western Carolina men’s and women’s cross country teams completed its season at the NCAA Southeast Regional Friday afternoon.

On the men’s side, Travis Alfaro led the team with an 80th place finish after a time of 31:01.8 over the 10k course.  Clay Howarth finished in 149th after a time of 32:31.4, and JC Cornett crossed the line in 203rd with a time of 33:44.8.  Tommy Connell and Cooper Wurst finished in 214th and 222nd respectively after times of 28:27.3 and 29:26.4 to complete the WCU runners.  As a team, the Catamounts finished in 31st place.

Michelle Provost had the best finish on the women’s side with a time of 23:06.3 over the 6k course good enough for 149th place.  Hayley Tomlinson followed with a 217th place finished after running a 24:18.4, while Shannon Veilleux took 236th with a time of 24:51.9.  Lena Elliott was the fourth and final Catamount runner with a time of 25:39.1 in 252nd place.  WCU did not register a team score as the Catamounts only had four runners complete the course.

The Catamounts ended their season with the race in Charlottesville.