Furman Men, Women notch victoriesGREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman men’s and women’s cross country teams notched team victories Saturday, defeating highly ranked competition, at the inaugural Furman Cross Country Classic Saturday morning in Greenville, S.C. Three of the Paladins’ top five women finishers were freshmen, while four of Furman’s top five men were rookies.
The Paladin men scored 36 points for the win, defeating Duke, who is ranked fourth in the Southeast Region, Georgia Tech, who ranks fourth in the South Region, Georgia, currently is third in the South Region, and Clemson, who stands at 15th in the Southeast Region. Both Duke and Georgia competed at the 2012 NCAA Championships.
Furman’s women tallied 33 points for the victory, knocking off Clemson, who ranks 11th in the Southeast Region, and Georgia, currently ranked third in the Southeast Region. Georgia made an appearance in the 2012 NCAA Championships.
The Paladin women swept places two through four on the 6K course, as freshman Grace Tinkey finished second with a time of 20:31.98, followed by junior Sinead Haughey at 20:42.70, and rookie Allie Buchalski in fourth after crossing the line in 21:03.19. Senior Catherine Burton recorded a 19th-place finish with a time of 21:55.92, followed by freshman Ann Sisson, who rounded out the Paladin scorers in 20th with a time of 21:56.02.
Furman’s men claimed five of the top-12 spots on the 8K course, led by freshman Tanner Hinkle in second place with a time of 23:53.87. Fellow rookie Troy Reeder claimed fourth at 24:04.80, while junior Tripp Hurt finished seventh with a time of 24:10.24. Freshman Connor Sorrells rounded out the top-10 with a time of 24:15.11, and rookie Brock Baker notched a time of 24:16.65 for 12th place.
Furman will compete at the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Okla, on September 28.
Elon men take first, women second at Elon InvitationalELON, N.C. – Junior Luis Vargas and senior Ben Perron were the first two runners to cross the finish line as they helped the Elon men’s cross country team to its second straight Elon Invitational championship on Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Elon Cross country Course. The women’s squad took second at the meet, just two points shy of first.
Vargas and Perron finished first and second, respectively, in the men’s 8K race and were two of six Phoenix runners overall in the top-10. Vargas crossed the line with a time of 24:19 – just three seconds shy of tying his own school-record. Perron matched his personal-best with a time of 25:29.
On the women’s side, senior Allyson Oram was the top finisher with a time of 17:42, third overall in the 5K run. Elyse Bierut was the next of five consecutive runners to cross the finish line for the maroon and gold after clocking in at 17:56 and in fifth place.
Tereza Novotna (18:01, sixth), Kaitlin Snapp (18:02, seventh), Kimberly Johansen (18:24, eighth) and Jenny Gallagher (18:29, ninth) all joined Oram and Bierut in the top-10 with Snapp running the eighth-fastest time in school-history.
Rounding out the top-10 finishes for the men were Ari Rothschild (26:12) in sixth, Nick Schneider (26:16) in seventh, Nick Foley (26:41) in eighth and Adam Bernstein (27:02) in 10th.
The Phoenix men defeated local rival and Southern Conference foe UNCG by a score of 24-32. North Carolina A&T (81) and North Carolina Central (114) rounded out the top-four scores for the men.
Elon was edged out by UNCG in the women’s race by a slim margin of 28-29 in favor of the Spartans. North Carolina A&T (97) and North Carolina Central (98) followed both squads.
The Phoenix will have two weeks to prepare for its next meet in Charlotte, N.C., at the Charlotte Cross Country Challenge on Sept. 28. The starting gun for the women’s 5K race is at 8:30 a.m. followed by the men’s run at 9 a.m. on the course at McAlpine Creek Park.
UNCG women take Elon Invitational title, men finish secondBURLINGTON, N.C. – The UNCG women’s cross country team took home the team title at the fifth annual Elon Invitational Saturday morning as the Spartans placed three of the top four finishers in the race to edge out host Elon for the top spot. UNCG finished with 28 points after placing runners in first, second, fourth, 10th and 11th while the Phoenix were second with 29 total points (3,5,6,7,8). Senior Shaina Sumney returned to competitive racing after redshirting last year and won the individual title with a time of 17:36 in the 5,000-meter race. Sophomore Lydia Saina placed second in the race with a career-best time of 17:39. Saina’s time is over a minute better than her best time last year as a freshman when she turned in a time of 18:47.29 at the Southern Conference Championships. Senior Chelsea Sumney was the Spartans’ third best finisher as she placed four with a time of 17:47. Sumney won last season’s Elon Invitational title with a time of 17:44, winning by over 34 seconds. Redshirt freshman Eira Jensen made her cross country debut after redshirting last fall and placed 10th overall with a time of 18:33. Redshirt freshman Katherine Link also made her cross county debut and finished 11th with a time of 18:45.
The UNCG men’s cross country team placed second overall at the fifth annual Elon Invitational Saturday morning finishing with 32 points while host Elon won the team title with 24 points.
Senior Abraham Kemboi was the Spartans’ top finisher in the race, placing third with a time of 25:29 in the 8,000-meter race. Kemboi won the individual title last season at the Elon Invitational with the same time of 25:29. Junior Dylan Belles placed four in the race with a time of 26:06.
Sophomore Joshua Crawford turned in a fifth place showing with a time of 26:11. His time is a career-best, trimming five seconds off his previous time of 26:16.17 set last season at the Southern Conference Championships. Junior Brandon Cain finished in a time of 26:57 while senior Tyron Alston clocked a time of 27:07.
Western Carolina men, women finish second at UNC Asheville Invitational
Asheville, N.C. – Travis Alfaro paced the Catamounts with a first place finish to lead the Western Carolina men’s cross country team to a second place finish, and the women’s team also finished second at the UNC Asheville Invitational Saturday morning.
On the men’s side, junior Travis Alfaro took the top podium spot with a time of 18:54 to pace the Catamounts over the 6k course. JC Cornett followed with a top-ten finish as he took eighth place with a time of 19:19. Michael Cornwell followed with an 11th place finish and a time of 19:30 with Jamie Bigby right behind with a time of 19:44 in 13th place. Clay Howarth finished 15th with a time of 19:46 to round out WCU’s top five runners. Cooper Wurst crossed the line with a time of 20:11 in 23rd, while Perry Cabean ended the race with a time of 20:19 in 29th place. Tommy Connell ran a time of 20:26, with Aaron Harris finishing in 21:10.
On the women’s side, Michelle Provost was the top Catamount with a third place finish and a time of 18:37 over the 5k course. Hayley Tomlinson crossed the line with a time of 19:33 in 17th place with MacKenzie Jensen running a time of 20:04 in 29th place. Kaitlyn Shetler finished with a time of 20:12 in 32nd place, while Kaylan Lance completed the WCU top five with a time of 20:26 in 34th place. Rachel Johnson ran a 20:47, and Lena Elliott and Julia Metscher ran times of 21:05 and 21:06 respectively. Imani Stewart crossed the line with a time of 23:35 as the final Catamount runner.
Western Carolina’s next race is September 21 at the Winthrop Adidas Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. at 9 a.m.
Wofford men, women compete at UNC Asheville ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Senior runner Sam Hughes finished in first place in the 5K run as the Terriers women’s cross country team finished in second place of 10 teams at the UNC Asheville Cross Country Carnival Saturday afternoon. For the Wofford men’s cross country team, they finished in fifth place of 10 teams in the 6K run.
Hughes crossed the finish line ahead of the pack with a final time of 18:21.00 at a 5:55 pace for her first career first place finish. Her final time was good enough for second all-time just 10 seconds behind fellow teammate and junior Alissa Williams who holds the school record with a time of 18:11.00.
In addition to Hughes, senior Alyssa Burkert finished in seventh place with a time of 18:57.00 and Williams finished in 24th place with a time of 19:51.00. The other Terriers that ran in the race were senior Carly Egan, juniors Kiersten Ellsworth and Stacey Mangan, and freshman Meghan Tillman.
For the men, junior Ryan Doyle lead the way with a 14th place finish crossing the finish line with a time of 19:46.00. Others that raced for the Terriers was senior Ben Boyles, juniors Hunter McGahee and Justin Whitaker, sophomores Alex Michaels and Kyle Hoffman, and freshman Jonathan Rice.
Wofford returns to running on Saturday September 28th when they travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to compete in the Charlotte Invitational. The race times are to be announced later.
Samford finishes seventh at Commodore Classic
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A top-20 finish by Luke Weishaar in the men’s 8K at Saturday’s Commodore Classic helped guide the Samford men’s cross country team to a seventh place finish.
Weishaar placed 13th in the men’s 8k in 26:29.88, just two seconds shy of a top-10 finish. Brandon Hazouri was the next Bulldog to cross the line in 25:54.33 (35th) with Lucas Sieb (38th, 25:55.00) and Adam Jones (41st, 26:57.20) close behind. Seniors Layton Dorsett (59th, 26:15.19) and James Graham (93rd, 26:56.92) rounded out the rest of Samford’s competitors.
The women’s team was led by Frances Bernard (51st, 18:35.86) with Rachel Wooten (57th, 18:42.80) following closely behind. Anna Laura Irvine (91st, 19:24.69) was the next Bulldog across as part of a pack along with Chelsea Treadway (94th, 19:27.59) and Marie Demedicis (98th, 19:35.31) with Margaret Grogan (114nd, 20:03.33) rounding out the Bulldogs’ competitors.
Samford will have two weeks without competition before they head to Louisville, Ky., for the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday, Oct. 5.