Furman Men's Cross Country Finishes Second, Women Fifth at Virginia Invitational
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Furman men’s cross country team claimed second place while the Paladin women tied for fifth Friday versus highly ranked competition at the Virginia/Panorama Farms Invitational Friday in Charlottesville, Va.
The Paladins men scored 51 points to finish just four points behind 13th-ranked Virginia, who won the meet with 47 points. Furman defeated 12th-ranked Iona, who recorded 54 points in the competition. Auburn placed fourth with 138 points, followed by Arizona in fifth with 147 points.
Senior Tripp Hurt led all Furman runners, placing fifth with a time of 24:11.52, while sophomore Tanner Hinkle captured sixth place with a time of 24:12.81. Paladin rookie Frank Lara secured a spot in the top-10, posting a time of 24:17.09 for ninth-place. Sophomore Troy Reeder and freshman Aaron Templeton finished back-to-back to round out the Paladin scorers, with Reeder taking 15th place at 24:32.53, and Templeton placing 16th at 24:33.90.
Freshman Mark Hadley notched a time of 24:44.20 for 23rd place, and fellow rookie Austin Sprague was 43rd at 25:12.12. Sophomore Brock Baker crossed the line in 25:49.49 to place 63rd, while sophomore Matt Lange finished 103rd at 27:31.22. Sophomore Josh Brickell turned in a time of 29:20.16, finishing 110th.
The Paladin women scored 109 points, tying Auburn for fifth place. Tenth-ranked Virginia won the meet with 37 points, while 26th-ranked William & Mary posted 74 points for second place. Wake Forest scored 94 points to place third, just one point ahead of Arizona.
Senior Sinead Haughey paced Furman, finishing seventh with a time of 21:19.64. Sophomore Allie Buchalski finished 12th with a time of 21:31.49, while fellow sophomore Grace Tinkey turned in a time of 21:53.38 for 22nd place. Sophomore Laura Miller placed 28th at 22:20.46, and sophomore Bryce Seymour completed the Paladin scorers, recording a time of 22:47.13 for 42nd place. Freshman Emma Mashburn was 46th at 22:53.99, while sophomore Maddie Wolfe placed 61st with a time of 23:36.42.
The Paladins will compete at the Gene Mullin Invitational in Greenville, S.C., on October 11.
Bucs Sweep Top Spots at Spartan Invitational
KERNERSVILLE, N.C. – The ETSU cross country program wrapped up an impressive day of competition on Friday with both the men and women taking first place in their respective races at the UNCG Spartan Invitational at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex.
The Buccaneer men occupied five of the top-10 finish placements in the 8K and were led by sophomore Simeon Roberts placing second overall – behind only an unattached runner in first place – with a time of 25:22.53. Meanwhile, the women placed four in the top five -- including the top three times – and were paced by junior Katie Hirko who took the top spot with a personal-record 17:30.73 time in the 5K.
Facing a field of competition featuring five additional teams – including three fellow Southern Conference members – the Blue & Gold put on a dominant performance at the same course which will used for the Southern Conference Championships on Friday, Oct. 31.
The ETSU men raced first and quickly took control. Running throughout the race in a tight pack, the Bucs crossed the finish line in a similar fashion. Following Roberts in the standings were a quartet of Blue & Gold runners including Matt Warriner in third (25:23.86), Adam Chase in fourth (25:37.72), Sean Duffy in seventh (25:43.99) and James Miller in 10th (25:55.70).
Not far behind the aforementioned runners were Angus Baldwin in 12th overall with a 26:08.86 time and Matt Joyner in 13th with a time of 26:14.06. The Bucs also managed to add three more runners to the top 25 with Dan Sonnenfeldt in 19th (27:02.77), Haydn Borghetti-Metz in 20th (27:04.92) and Thomas Miller in 24th (27:19.32).
These times added up to a point total of 21 for the men which allowed them to take the team title over second-place Virginia Military Institute (VMI) who had a team score of 34.
With ETSU in clear possession of the momentum, the Buccaneer women picked up where the men left off and raced past their competition. Behind race winner Hirko in the standings were a pair of teammates who placed second and third, respectively, with freshman Macy Carrier placing runner-up with a time of 18:16.12 and Victoria Hutchens rounding out the top three with an personal best 18:36.66 time. To complete the overtaking of the top five, Lisa Pallotta (Leesburg, Va.) placed fifth with a personal-high race of 19:02.76.
Following said runners in the top 20 were a trio of Bucs including Carmen Hilliard in 12th (19:33.69), Kylie Rutherford in 17th (19:53.71) and Sarah Zimmer in 19th (19:58.77). Brianna Goble was also able to sneak into the top 30 in 29th overall with a time of 21:09.12.
A point total of 23 let the ETSU women take the race crown ahead of runner-up VMI who accumulated a 48 team point total.
The Blue & Gold will have a couple weeks off from competition before returning to action on Oct. 17 at the Western Carolina Catamount Classic in Cullowhee, N.C. in the program’s final tune-up before the league championships at the end of October.
Samford Men Win; Women Earn Second Place Finish
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Samford University men's cross country team raced its way to its first win of the season while the women ran its way to a second place finish at the Charlotte Invitational on Friday, Sept. 26.
The men were paced by Arsène Guillorell who improved on his 8,000-meter time and turned in a result of 25:02.50 to lead all competitors. Adam Jones and Luke Weishaar followed Guillorell to place second and third with times of 25:07.50 and 25:12.90.
The men finished with 21 total points in the race.
The Samford women were paced by Karissa Nelson turned in a second place finish 22:11.50 whose' time only fell behind the University of South Carolina's Anna Todd. Todd recorded a top time of 21:58.90.
Francis Bernard and Rachel Wooten both placed top ten finishes with times of 22:35.90 and 22:46.50 for seventh and 10th place finishes respectively.
The women posted 62 points in its second place finish with an average team time of 22:47.24 in the 6,000 meter race.
Samford's next test will take place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama at the University of Alabama meet on Oct. 18.
Women’s XC Finishes Second, DeNijs Paces Men at UNCG Invite
KERNERSVILLE, N.C. - Hannah Dickinson posted a personal best in the 5K, while Kelly Russell led a strong effort by the remainder of the squad as the VMI women's cross country team posted a runner-up finish at the UNCG Spartan Invitational, hosted by UNCG at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, N.C. The meet was held at the same course that will host the 2014 SoCon Cross Country Championships in late October.
As a team, the Keydets finished second with 48 total points. East Tennessee State won the meet, and swept the podium, with 23 markers and High Point was third with 70 points. Wofford (93), UNCG (151) and N.C. Central (156) rounded out the team standings.
Dickinson started the race well on the eventual conference championship layout and was in fourth very early in the competition. She was able to hold her position with relative ease on the fairly flat course that featured occasional rolling hills, and wound up fourth in 18:58. Teammate Russell ran perhaps the strongest cross country career, moving up well throughout the race and winding up eighth in 19:22, just ahead of Bethany King in ninth place (19:26).
King's fellow freshman, Kennedy Flynn, was 13th in 19:37 and ran with another first-year competitor, Mia Castelveter, for most of the race. Castelveter was 14th in 19:43 on the overcast afternoon.
Michelle Church made steady progress throughout the race and finished 15th with a strong closing effort, timing in at 19:49, while Christina Hill rounded out the Keydet harriers by finishing 31st in 21:37.
Daniel DeNijs finished fifth to lead six Keydets in the top-14, helping the VMI men's cross country squad to a runner-up finish at the UNCG Spartan Invitational at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, N.C. The meet was run on the same course that will host the 2014 SoCon Cross Country Championship in late October.
DeNijs led the way for the Keydets for the first time in his career with his fifth place finish, coming in a race that saw him run as high as third early on before finishing in 25:39 over the 8K course. With DeNijs' result, VMI has now seen three different runners serve as its #1 finisher over its first three events. Friday, Sean Helmke was sixth in 25:40, finishing directly behind DeNijs after a final home stretch sprint, while Patrick Spahn (25:50/8th) and Avery Martin (25:51/9th) also finished in the top 10.
Brandon White was VMI's fifth runner, placing 11th in 26:06, with Hartnel Paultre rounding out the top six in 14th (26:24). Philip Harpen (26:47/17th), Tyler Richards (26:48/18th), Micah Ellington (27:19/23rd) and Tripp Fitch (28:05/30th) rounded out the Keydet contingent.
All told, the Keydets finished in second place with 34 points, 13 markers behind East Tennessee State. A contingent from High Point was third (95), with Wofford (107), UNCG (133) and N.C. Central (161) rounding out the team standings.
VMI cross country will return to action October 4, taking part in the George Mason Invite in Leesburg, Va. Action gets underway at 10 a.m.
Cross Country Hosts First-Ever Meet In Spartan Invitational
KERNERSVILLE, N.C. – The UNCG cross country program hosted its first-ever cross country meet in program history Friday afternoon as the Spartans welcomed in five teams for the Spartan Invitational at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville. The Ivey Redmon Sports Complex will be home to the 2014 Southern Conference Championships, which UNCG will host.
On the men’s side, freshman Bryan Whyms was the top finisher for the Spartans, placing 27th with a time of 27:48.35 on the 8,000-meter course. The 8,000-meter distance is the first for the Spartan freshmen in their collegiate careers. UNCG finished fifth overall in the team standings on the men’s side with 133 points while East Tennessee State won the event with 21 points and VMI had 34 points.
Senior Dylan Belles is running unattached this season and won the Spartan Invitational with a time of 25:16.47, winning by over six seconds against his nearest competitor in Simeon Roberts of East Tennessee State. Belles’ time is a personal-record, trimming over eight seconds off his time of 25:24.88 set last year at the SoCon Championships.
Freshman Brandon King placed 33rd overall with a time of 28:32.56 in his first time at the 8,000-meter distance. Sophomore Christopher Murphy rounded out the Spartans’ top three finishers with a time of 28:44.36 to place 34th overall.
On the women’s side, freshman Amanda Branch was the Spartans’ top performer with a 27th place finish in the 5,000-meter distance. Branch posted a time of 21:01.71 and out-kicked teammate Meredith Hicks at the finish line. Hicks placed 28th overall with a time of 21:0.1.78.
Sophomore Katlyn Adkins was the Spartans’ third finisher with a time of 21:21.96, placing 30th overall. The Spartans also finished fifth in the women’s standings with 151 total points while ETSU and VMI also finished first and second respectively, with scores of 23 and 48.
UNCG will have its full squad available next Friday when it travels to the Notre Dame Invitational in a highly competitive field.
Wofford Cross Country Teams Earn Fourth Place Finishes at UNCG Spartan Invitational
KERNERSVILLE, N. C. – The Wofford College men's and women's cross country teams each earned a fourth place finish in Friday's UNCG Spartan invitational.
The performances of junior Ryan Doyle and senior Alissa Williams were respective team-bests in the day's competition. Doyle ran a 26:32.15 8K, good for a 15th place finish, while Williams logged a 19:51.32 in the 5K, earning 10th place for the women.
Eastern Tennessee State took both the men's and women's team titles. UNCG's Dylan Belles won the men's race with a time of 25:16.47, while ETSU's Katie Hirko secured the women's title with a time of 17:30.73.
Others running for the Terriers' men included Alex Michaels, Cristian Widenhouse, Hunter McGahee, Jonathan Rice and Justin Whitaker. Anya Bunao, Halee Rogers, Breck Peterson, Sarah Spiro, Marella Angello and Alexandra Christopolous participated on the women's side.
The Terriers run again next Saturday at the Upstate Invitational, hosted by USC Upstate.