Furman Men's XC Qualifies For NCAA Championships With Second-Place Finish At Regionals
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Furman men’s cross country team placed second at the 2014 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships Friday at E.P. ‘Tom’ Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky., becoming the first team in the history of the Paladin cross country program to qualify for the NCAA championships. The Paladins earn an automatic bid to the national championship meet, which will be held Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind.
The Furman men scored 79 points to place second, just four points behind winner Virginia, who earned the other Southeast Region automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Additional at-large bids will be announced on Saturday.
Junior Tripp Hurt led all Paladin finishers on the day, placing eighth with a time of 30:21.0 on the men’s 10K course. Sophomore Tanner Hinkle, freshman Aaron Templeton, and sophomore Troy Reeder finished back-to-back-to-back to solidify the Furman advantage. Hinkle turned in a time of 30:28.0 for 12th place, followed by Templeton in 13th at 30:28.3. Reeder claimed 14th place at 30:29.5.
Freshman Frank Lara rounded out the Paladin scorers in 32nd place with a time of 31:03.5, while rookie Mark Hadley turned in a time of 31:10.8 for 39th place. Sophomore Brock Baker was 61st at 31:38.8.
The Furman women’s team scored 195 points for sixth place in the team competition, moving up two spots from last year’s eighth-place finish. The Paladins, who defeated both in-state rivals South Carolina and Clemson, garnered the top finish among all teams from South Carolina.
Sophomore Allie Buchalski paced the Paladins on the 6K course, finishing ninth with a time of 20:35.7, while senior Sinead Haughey posted a time of 20:46.0 for 17th place. Sophomore Julia Rodriguez claimed 48th place at 21:19.2, and fellow sophomore Grace Tinkey was 54th at 21:24.2. Rookie Emma Mashburn placed 70th with a time of 21:42.2 to complete the Paladin slate of scorers. Sophomore Laura Miller crossed the line in 21:57.2 for 83rd place, and sophomore Maddie Wolfe placed 113th with a time of 22:38.8.
All-Region Cotter Leads UTC to 12th Place Region Finish
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior Amanda Cotter led the Mocs to a 12th place finish at the 2014 NCAA South Region meet and earned all-region honors Friday morning at the Apalachee Race Course in Tallahassee, Fla.
Cotter covered the 6,000 meter course in a time of 20:22.5, topping her previous best time by nearly a minute. Junior Rebecca Greenwall was Chattanooga’s second finisher, placing 72nd overall with a time of 21:12.20.
Freshman Emily Drouin placed 95th with a time of 21:31.30 over the course with redshirt freshman Maddison Melchionna finishing 105th with a time of 21:38.20. Senior Keeley Stewart was the final scoring Chattanooga runner across the line with a time of 22:00.30.
Sophomore Jessica York finished the event with a time of 22:01.80, topping her personal best and classmate Katie Ray crossed the line in a time of 22:39.10.
The men only finished four runners and did not have enough to qualify for a team score. Junior Patrick O’Brien was forced to drop out with just two miles remaining.
However, the Mocs’ other four runners went on to finish with senior Harry Smithers placing 42nd in the race featuring 160 runners. Smithers recorded a time of 31:34.40 over the 10-kilometer course.
Junior Trevor Janssen was the second UTC runner across the line, finishing 64th with a time of 31:57.90 for a personal record. Senior John Gilpin was 76th with a time of 32:06.80, also a personal best and junior Austin Cassasa finished in a time of 34:20.00.
Up next for the Mocs, with the close of the cross country season, is indoor track and field in less than one month.
ETSU Competes Against Region’s Best at NCAA Meet
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The ETSU cross country program showed well against the region’s elite on Friday at the NCAA South Regional Championships at Apalachee Regional Park with the men’s team placing 13th out of 22 teams, while the women’s team finished 23rd out of 29.
In respective races, the Bucs were paced by junior Katie Hirko in the women’s meet with a 42nd overall placement – out of nearly 200 runners – and a time of 20:46.00 in the 6K, while the ETSU men were led by Adam Chase in 30th overall – out of 160 runners – with a 31:15.20 in the 10K.
The women kicked things off at Regionals with a 9 a.m. start time. As she has all season, Hirko led the way for the Blue & Gold with an impressive run that was second-best among SoCon runners participating in the meet. Unfortunately, the junior’s young teammates were not able to keep up with her brisk pace. Freshman Macy Carrier crossed the finish line 116th overall with a time of 21:49.70. Fellow Bucs Victoria Hutchens and Sarah Zimmer slotted into placements 134 and 160 with times of 22:09.00 and 22:44.20, respectively. A pack of ETSU runners placed between 164 and 178 with Lisa Pallotta racing to a time of 22:47.40, Carmen Hilliard recording a 23.10.60 time and Kylie Rutherford posting a 23:19.00 race.
An average race time of 22:03.26 placed the Bucs into 23rd overall out of 29 teams. The Blue & Gold was able to edge conference foe Mercer in the standings who placed 28th with a 22:21.14 average race time.
The men followed with a 10 a.m. start time got strong showings from seniors Chase and Sean Duffy. On Chase’s heels among the top 35, Duffy placed 33rd overall with a 31:22.40 time. Teammates Simeon Roberts and James Miller trailed in 66th and 77th, respectively with times of 31:58.10 and 32:07.90. Transfer Matthew Joyner crept into the top 100 with a 96th-place finish with a 32:31.60 time. Rounding out the ETSU contingent were Matthew Warriner in 111th with a race of 32:52.10 and Angus Baldwin in 149th with a 34:42.10 time.
These seven times averaged out to a 31:51.04 race time; good for 13th out of 22 participating teams. This placement was best among SoCon participating teams which included Samford in 16th and Mercer in 21st.
This meet brings the season to a close for both teams after each experienced some successes this fall highlighted by strong performances at the 2014 Southern Conference Cross Country Championships where the men placed runner-up and the women finished fourth overall in respective their respective races.
Thompson Breaks Citadel Record at NCAA Regionals
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Jackie Thompson broke The Citadel 6k record time on Friday when she crossed the finish line in 23:05 at the NCAA Southeast Regional Meet at the E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.
Thompson's time beat the previous record, set by Danielle McKee at the 2013 regional meet, by 17 seconds.
All seven Bulldogs on the women's team set personal-best times and moved into The Citadel record book. Jess DeWitte notched the No. 5 spot in The Citadel record book with a time of 23:44 while Callian Colquitt clocked in at 24:04 and now ranks No. 6 in Citadel history.
Nicole Ogilbee crossed the finish line in 24:21 and moved to ninth place in The Citadel record book while Emani Little posted a mark of 24:39 and now holds the No. 10 spot in school history. Emily Fields recorded a time of 24:55 and Grace Jenkins clocked in at 25:07 for the Bulldogs.
On the men's side, Michael Lantz finished in 170th place with a 10k time of 33:45 while Raeven Lantz finished 197th with a mark of 34:27.
Keydet XC Wraps Up Seasons at SE Regional Championships
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The VMI men’s cross country team put three runners in the top 75, but fell just short of a top-15 team finish as the Keydets finished 17th at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship, contested Friday afternoon in Louisville, Ky.
The Keydets were led by Sean Helmke, who finished 69th with a time of 31:46 over the 10K course. Daniel DeNijs was the team’s #2 runner (71st/31:47) and Avery Martin finished 74th in 31:58. Overall, VMI finished 17th of 33 teams, three points behind Clemson and nine behind former Big South opponent Liberty for 15th place.
VMI saw Paultre finish 110th in his final career cross country race, crossing the stripe in 32:27, while Brandon White was 137th with a time of 32:56. Tyler Richards (141st/32:58) and Patrick Spahn (144th/33:08) rounded out the VMI finishers.
On the women’s side, VMI fielded just two runners – Seniors Hannah Dickinson and Michelle Church. Dickinson finished 151st on the 6K course, timing in at 22:59, while Church was 227th in 24:34.