Paladin Men Win Furman Cross Country Classic, Women Take Second Place
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman men’s cross country team won the second annual Furman Cross Country Classic Saturday morning in Greenville, S.C., defeating highly ranked competition for the victory, while the Paladin women’s team took second place behind Auburn.
The Paladin men scored 24 points for the win, beating second-place Auburn by 40 points. All five of the Furman men’s scorers finished in the top 10, including sophomore Tanner Hinkle, who claimed first place in the 8K race with a time of 24:17.78. Sophomore Troy Reeder finished third with a time of 24:30.39, followed by Paladin rookie Frank Lara in fourth at 24:33.81. Senior Tripp Hurt recorded a time of 24:46.27 to take seventh place, while freshman Aaron Templeton rounded out the Furman scorers in ninth place with a time of 24:48.33.
Furman’s women tallied 56 points in the 6K race, just 11 points behind Auburn. All five Paladin scorers were among the top 17 finishers, giving the Paladins the highest fifth position runner of any team in the field. Sophomore Allie Buchalski led Furman with a fourth-place finish after recording a time of 21:27.68, while senior Sinead Haughey also placed among the top-10, clinching ninth place at 22:00.12. Sophomore Julia Rodriguez turned in a time of 22:03.04 for 11th place, while sophomore Laura Miller placed 15th at 22:06.52. Rookie Emma Mashburn completed the Paladin scorers, placing 17th with a time of 22:12.86.
Other Furman men’s competitors included sophomore Brock Baker, who placed 11th with a time of 24:58.37, and sophomore Josh Brickell, who clocked a time of 25:25.31 for 18th place. Senior William Ivey placed 26th at 25:45.55, while sophomore Matt Lange was 31st at 25:57.53. Senior Jack Morgan finished in 44th place with a time of 26:21.12, and sophomore Lee Shearer placed 67th after turning in a time of 27:23.82.
For the Paladin women, sophomore Anna McBride finished 26th with a time of 22:41.04, and sophomore Maddie Wolfe was 30th after recording a time of 22:45.28. Freshman Jacquelyn Crow turned in a time of 22:53.17 for 32nd place, and sophomore Bryce Seymour placed 29th at 23:12.22. Sophomore Ann Sisson posted a time of 26:15.49 for 85th place.
Furman will compete at the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville, Va., on September 26.
VMI Men’s XC Excels at JMU Invite
NEW MARKET, Va. – The VMI men’s cross country team posted six finishers in the top-17, leading to a runner-up finish Saturday at the JMU Invitational, contested in New Market, Va.
Avery Martin led the way for the Keydets in the 7,900-meter course, timing in at 25:13 to finish seventh. Sean Helmke was eighth in 25:14 with Daniel DeNijs 10th in 25:20. Hartnel Paultre finished 13th, clocking in at 25:23, and Patrick Spahn rounded out VMI’s top five with a 16th-place finish. Spahn crossed the line in 25:35, just over two seconds ahead of Brandon White’s 17th-place result.
The Keydets finished the meet with 48 points, 26 behind event winner Duke. George Mason (62) was third, with Longwood fourth (123) and Concord (142) rounding out the competitors.
Other VMI finishers included Philip Harpen (26:16/28th), Tyler Richards (26:26/30th), Luke Phillips (26:40/35th) and Micah Ellington (26:49/37th).
VMI cross country will return to action Sept. 26, taking part in the UNCG Spartan Invitational in Kernersville, N.C. Action gets underway at 5 p.m.
UTC's Henderson Wins Commodore Classic
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior cross country All-American Teghan Henderson claimed her fifth straight regular season victory with a top place finish at the Vanderbilt Commodore Classic Saturday morning at the Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tenn.
Henderson won all three of her regular season races last year and is now 2-0 on the year for five straight victories. She finished the 5K race in Nashville in a PR time of 16:53.25, more than four seconds ahead of runner-up Price. Vanderbilt took the next five places to claim the title.
Senior Rebecca Greenwall was the second UTC runner across the line placing 41st with a time of 18:17.17 with classmate Amanda Cotter was next with a time of 18:23.47.
The Mocs finished ahead of Southern Conference foe Samford (11) and former member Davidson (12) as well as Memphis (9) and Western Kentucky (10). Vanderbilt grabbed the overall team title with 45 points and Mississippi State was second (114) followed by MTSU, Lipscomb, Louisville, Ole Miss and Belmont.
Sophomore Jessie York was the fourth UTC runner across the line in a time of 18:35.36 with senior Keeley Stewart running a PR time of 18:37.67 to finish 69th. Newcomer Emily Drouin was right behind in a time of 18:39.05.
On the men’s side, the Mocs did not run an entire team, but instead got in some individual performances. Redshirt Paul Stuart, running unattached, finished 29th overall with a time of 25:34.11.
Senior John Gilpin once again paced the Mocs as the first UTC running across the line in a time of 25:48.64. Transfer Austin Casassa was next placing 87th overall with a time of 26:32.68. Patrick O’Brien finished the 8K course in a time of 27:20.52.
The Mocs return to action October 4. Some will run the Greater Louisville Classic while others will compete in the Jacksonville State Classic.
Samford Places 8th and 11th At Commodore Classic
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Samford University men's and women's cross country teams make the trek up to Vaughn's Gap at Percy Warner Park to compete in the 2014 Commodore Classic hosted by Vanderbilt University on Saturday, September 13.
The Bulldog men started the 8k event at 9 a.m. to get things going for the day. The men ran their way to an eighth place finish and a total time of 2:09:20 for an average of 25:56 and was led by freshman Arse'ne Guillorel who posted the top time of 25:30.36 for a 25th place finish.
Juniors Luke Weishaar (25:34.66), Adam Jones (25:42.16) and Brandon Hazouri (25:42.74) followed closely behind for finishes of 30th, 39th and 40th for the men's top times.
Freshman Karisa Nelson led the Samford women for the second straight meet after she posted a 43rd place finish with a time of 18:17.39 in the 5k event. Sophomore Ansley Bos and senior Frances Bernard finished back-to-back with finishes of 18:26.58 and 18:26.96.
The women would end the meet with an 11th place finish and combined time of 1:32:41 and average time 18:33.
The Bulldogs will return to action on September 25, when they travel to Charlotte, N.C. to compete in the Charlotte Invitational hosted by N.C. State University.
Bulldogs Complete Action at Furman Cross Country Classic
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Jackie Thompson and Raeven Lantz led the Bulldogs as they wrapped up action at the Furman Cross Country Classic in Greenville, S.C.
Thompson clocked in at 24:07 in the 6k race to take 54th place and lead the women's team for the second time this season while Caillian Colquitt finished next in 67th, crossing the line in 24:43.
Also finishing in the top five for The Citadel were Jess DeWitte (74th, 25:12), Nicole Ogilbee (82nd, 25:45) and Grace Jenkins (85th, 26:18).
Lantz led the men's team, clocking in at 26:16 in the 8k to place 39th. Michael Lantz finished 48th with a mark of 26:44 while Ross Jordan placed 75th with a time of 28:04. Rounding out the top-five runners for the Bulldogs were Jamie Cunningham (77th, 28:11) and Darrell Hayden (80th, 28:26).
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Sept. 27 when they host the Will Wilson Citadel Invitational at James Island County Park.
Catamount Harriers Compete at Furman Invitational
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Western Carolina University men's and women's cross country teams traveled to Southern Conference member Furman University to compete in the 2014 Furman Invitational Saturday morning. The women competed at the 6k distance for the first time this season while the men took on an 8k course. The women finished 17th in the 25 team field while the men placed 13th out of 18.
Both the men and women finished ahead of conference foe The Citadel while the men also took down former conference member College of Charleston.
The women's top finisher was senior Aleshia Reese who placed 47th out of 90-runner field. Reese crossed the line in 23:35.85. Following close behind was classmate Michelle Provost who finished 51st with a time of 23:52.92. Rounding out WCU's top three was redshirt freshman Katarina Ruehl who placed 66th with a time of 24:43.38.
WCU's final two scorers were junior Kaitlyn Shetler and redshirt freshman Laney Browder who crossed the line 69th and 71st, respectively. Shetler posted a time of 24:45.98 while Browder turned in a time of 24:46.72.
The Catamounts had four other runners compete including freshman Madison Goode (76th, 25:24.52), freshman Ashley Taylor (79th, 25:32.35), sophomore Rachel Johnson (83rd, 26:15.09) and senior Lena Elliott (87th, 26:39.21).
WCU finished with 240 points while the top three team finishers were Emory, Wake Forest and Furman.
On the men's side it was redshirt sophomore Clay Howarth who led the way with a 21st-place finish in the 87-runner field. Howarth came across the line in 25:37.79. Senior Travis Alfaro finished 32nd with a time of 26:04.21. Rounding out the top three for the Catamounts was sophomore JC Cornett who finished 40th while crossing the line in 26:17.73.
The final two scorers for the Cats were redshirt junior Michael Cornwell and freshman Crisman Jones. Cornwell turned in a time of 27:10.95 while placing 60th and Jones came across 69th with a time of 27:38.06.
Three more Catamounts competed in the race including sophomore Tommy Connell (73rd, 27:57.27), junior Cooper Wurst (78th, 28:14.90) and junior Jamie Bigby (81st, 28:34.19).
The men finished with a final score of 190 points. The top three finishers in the race were host Furman, Mount Olive and Mars Hill.
The Catamount cross country teams will be back in action next Saturday, Sept. 20, at the UNC Asheville Invitational.