ETSU Men Place Third, Women Fifth, at Covered Bridge Open
BOONE, N.C. – The ETSU cross country program got the season started Friday at Don Kennedy Trails at State Farm Field with the men recording a third-place overall finish, while the women notched a fifth-place standing in the Covered Bridge Open hosted by Appalachian State University.
The ETSU women kicked off the 2014 campaign with a 5 p.m. start time against various teams from throughout the Southeast. Running five freshmen in its core of eight competitors, veteran Katie Hirko led the ETSU pack with a 12th-place finish – out of 94 participants – with a 19:19.72 time in the 5K. The junior was trailed in the standings by teammate Macy Carrier in 31st with a time of 20:16.82.
Three additional Buccaneers finished among the top-50 with Victoria Hutchens placing 40th with a 20:45.94 time, while Lisa Pallotta and Sarah Zimmer followed in 42nd and 48th with 20:47.95 and 21:06.27 times, respectively.
A trio of first-year ETSU runners trailed in the standings with Alexa Zimmerman in 64th, Brianna Goble in 74th and Hannah Warren in 89th.
An average time of 20:27.34 slotted the women into fifth overall out of 11 teams. Wake Forest took home the meet crown with an average time of 18:57.74
The ETSU men followed in competition with a 5:45 p.m. launch time featuring a veteran-heavy group of three seniors and one junior in its faction of nine runners. Senior Adam Chase led the way for the Bucs with a seventh-place finish – out of 93 runners – with a 21:09.78 time in the 6400-meter run. A Blue & Gold duo also managed to sneak into the top-20 standings with Sean Duffy placing 16th with a time of 21:24.53, while Simeon Roberts nipped at his teammate’s heels with a 17th-place finish with a 21:25.34 time.
Angus Baldwin followed in the standings in 27th with a 21:46.70 time, while Dan Sonnenfeldt rounded out the top 30 with a time of 21:49.53. Senior James Miller raced to a 41st overall placement with a 22:05.93 time, while Chase Mussard followed in 47th with a time of 22:21.46.
In addition, a couple frosh got their first taste of collegiate racing with Carl Oberfeitinger placing 52nd with a 22:40.78 time and Haydn Borghetti-Metz finishing with a time of 22:46.47.
The men’s average time of 21:31.18 allowed them to finish third overall out of 11 squads. Once again, Wake Forest finished first overall, this time with a 21:03.13 average time.
The ETSU cross country will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 19, at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational at the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course in Blacksburg, Va.
VMI Men's, Women’s XC Opens Season at Covered Bridge Open
BOONE, N.C. - Junior Patrick Spahn finished sixth overall, pacing a strong effort from the VMI men's cross country team in its season opener Friday at the Covered Bridge Open in Boone, N.C. The Keydets finished fourth overall in the team standings over the 6,400-meter course.
As a team, the Keydets (92 points) were just two points behind East Tennessee State, a squad picked four spots in front of VMI in the SoCon's preseason poll. Wake Forest (23) won the meet over Appalachian State (83), while North Carolina's five-man roster finished fifth (118) in the 11-team event.
Spahn's sixth-place effort of 21:08 put him just over four seconds off the podium, while Hartnel Paultre was also in the top-15 (21:22/15th) despite running in his first cross country event since 2012.
Daniel DeNijs was VMI's #3 runner, finishing 18th in 21:27, while Sean Helmke (21:45/26th) and Brandon White (21:53/35th) rounded out the team's top five. Avery Martin (22:05/40th), Luke Phillips (22:15/46th), Philip Harpen (22:22/48th), Micah Ellington (22:29/50th), Zach Chase (22:55/58th) and Jay Broom (23:01/59th) were the rest of VMI's individual competitors.
The VMI women’s cross country team finished ninth overall Friday, as the team opened its season at the Covered Bridge Open, hosted by Appalachian State in Boone, N.C. Hannah Dickinson was the top finisher for the Keydets, completing the 5K course in 20:57 and placing 45th.
As a team, the Keydets (238 points) finished ninth overall, one point behind a squad of five N.C. State runners that finished eighth. VMI bested Charlotte (250) and USC Upstate (261), while Wake Forest (43) edged North Carolina (44) and the host Appalachian State squad (45) for the meet title.
In the individual standings, Dickinson was followed by freshmen Bethany King (21:25/50th) and Kennedy Flynn (21:34/57th). Kelly Russell (21:55/62nd), Mia Castelveter (22:36/76th) and Michelle Church (22:48/81st) rounded out the competitors for the VMI women.
VMI cross country will return to action Sept. 13, taking part in the JMU Invitational in New Market, Va. Action is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
Western Carolina Men Finish Second, Women Fourth in WCU Invitational
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2014 season by finishing second and fourth, respectively, at the Western Carolina Invitational on WCU's campus Friday.
The women got the meet underway finishing in fourth place of the eight teams, Senior Michelle Provost ran the two-mile course in 12:05.91 and finished in 13th overall, Senior Aleshia Reese was right with her at 12:13.60. Freshmen Madison Goode 12:35.32 finished 24th, Laney Browder 12:48.43 crossed the line in 28th, Katarina Ruehl 12:51.75 finished 30th, Ashley Taylor 13:07.12 in 40th and Sophomore Rachel Johnson 13:27.98 finished 42nd were the final runners to have scores count.
Rounding out the rest were Senior Lena Elliott 13:37.82, Freshmen Samantha Cook 14:27.73, Ricole Jenkins 15:11.75 and Sophomore Harley Palmer 17:12.61 respectively.
Senior Travis Alfaro completed the 5k course with a time of 15:34.06 and fifth place overall to help the Catamount men to a second place finish of the eight teams to compete. Sophomore Clay Howarth followed closely in sixth with a time of 15:44.35 with Junior Michael Cornewll in eighth at a time of 15:58.95 not far behind. Also keeping pace was Sophomore JC Cornett in ninth with a time of 16:01.02.
Making a strong debut Freshman Crisman Jones with a time of 16:27.41 which was good enough for a 16th place finish, followed by both 24th place Sophomore Tommy Connell 16:45.85 and 27th Junior Jamie Bigby 16:50.21 were the only scores counted for the men. Finishing out the men's team were Freshman Collin Vilen at 17:19.95, Sophomores Kaleel Barton at 17:38.50 and James Page with 17:49.54.
The University of Florida won both the men's and women's team events.
Wofford Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Finish Fifth in Season Opener
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Wofford College men’s and women’s cross country teams placed fifth in their season opener at the Western Carolina Invitational in Cullowhee, N.C. Friday night.
The University of Florida swept the meet, both teams finishing in first. Florida sophomore Mac Reynolds finished first in the men’s 5K with a 15:13.75, while the Gators’ sophomore Taylor Tubbs won the women’s 2 mile with a 10:54.51.
Wofford’s men were led by junior Ryan Doyle, who finished in 11th place for the Terriers with a time of 16:17.31. Junior Alex Michaels finished second among Wofford runners at 19th running a 16:38.45, while freshman Cristian Widenhouse finished 32nd for a team-third-best time of 17:12.21.
Others running for the men included freshman Ben Hensley, sophomore Jonathtan Rice and senior Justin Whitaker.
Senior Alissa Williams led the Terrier women, posting a team-best 12:27.78 in the 2 mile run for a 21st place finish. Wofford’s top three women were rounded out by freshmen classmates Chandler Washburn (12:41.29, 26th) and Sarah Spiro (12:56.79, 32nd).
Others who competed for the women included freshmen Anya Bunao and Breck Peterson, junior Halee Rogers and senior Kiersten Ellsworth.
Wofford’s cross country teams compete again next Friday at the USC Upstate Eye Opener. The meet will take place down the road in Spartanburg.
Samford Cross Country Opens 2014 With Strong Showing
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University cross country team opened its 2014 season as both the men and women took part in the Samford-Alabama Dual Meet on Friday, August 29 at Veteran's Park.
The Samford men scored a total of 40 points with an average time of 17:14.20 in the 5k event. The Crimson Tide men tallied 15 points on an average time of 16:31.94 and took the top five times.
Steven Crain posted the Bulldogs' top time of 16:59.33 and was followed by Michael Rohdy and Lucas Sieb who posted times of 17:16.70 and 17:17:66, respectively. Jeff Edmondson won the meet with a time of 16:30.44.
The women ran a two-mile route and barely fell to UA 33-22 in overall points. Karissa Nelson and Ansley Bos led the way with times of 11:29.82 and 11:34.54, respectively.
Samford's average team time was 11:59.30 while Alabama notched an average time of 11:45.15.
The Bulldogs return to action on September 13, when the teams travel to compete in the Commodore Classic hosted by Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mercer Men's, Women’s Cross Country Tops at Struts Season Opener
OXFORD, Ala. – Mercer's Kami Orrender and Jenna Gipperich finished first and second, respectively, while leading the women's cross country squad to the team title at Friday's Struts Season Opener hosted by Jacksonville State.
Orrender's crossed the line at 15:04.37 while Gipperich was next best at 15:16.26. Katie-Rose Alligood also managed a top-five placement, outpacing 41 other competitors with a time of 15:52.83.
Victoria Rogers (16:05.32) and Keightley Dudgeon (16:13.89) finished seventh and eighth while Courtney Czerniak (16:24.29) was 10th best. Shannon Millikin (13th – 16:36.41), Cheyenne Andrew (20th – 17:22.48), Brianna Wahy (24th – 17:39.93), Lia Sewell (28th – 18:10.51), Jazmin Zambrana (30th – 18:34.37), Ryan Sharry (33rd – 18:51.15), Patricia Surber (35th – 19:28.37) and Abby Boyd (39th – 19:58.35) rounded out Mercer's participants.
Mercer's 23 team points bested Alabama State (39 points), Jacksonville State (89 points), Auburn Montgomery (104 points) and Alabama A&M (135 points) for the top team spot. The Bears average time of 15:42.54 was more than 20 second better than second place Alabama State's average time of 16:03.71.
The Mercer men's cross country team swept the top four spots in the 5k race to capture the team championship at the Struts Season Opener hosted by Jacksonville State on Friday afternoon.
Mercer's Davis Trexler outpaced 31 other competitors to take the top individual placement with a time of 16:14.16. Trexler's teammates Victor Kosgei (16:15.35), Austin Pfeifer (16:43.28), and Andrew Anastasiades (16:50.77) rounded out the top four spots.
Mercer's Jeff Law also registered a top-10 finish, crossing the line eighth with a time of 17:04.84. Connor Veith took 11th at 17:14.12, Mark Brannen finished 12th at 17:20.70, Nicholas Ashmead came in 15th at 17:42.99 and Adam McMahan earned 16th at 17:44.93.
Mercer's 18 team points outpaced host Jacksonville State (61 points), Alabama State (66 points), and Auburn Montgomery (97 points) for the event title. The Bears' average time of 16:37.68 was more than 50 seconds better than second placed Jacksonville State's average time (17:28.43).