Furman’s Allie Buchalski wins Pre-NCAA Invitational
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Junior Allie Buchalski crossed the line in 20:17.3 to take first place in the women’s black 6K Saturday at the Pre-NCAA Invitational in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, leading Furman to an 11th-place finish.
The meet, which featured numerous powerhouses that finished among the elite at the 2014 NCAA Championships, served as a pre-cursor for this year’s national championships and was split into two races, the Women’s Black and Women’s Red divisions. Washington State won the black division meet with 176 points, followed by Buffalo with 183 points, and Arizona with 203 points. The Furman women scored 316 points.
Junior Laura Miller recorded a 16th-place finish with a time of 21:13.1, while sophomore Jacquelyn Crow turned in a time of 21:25.9 to place 24th. Sophomore Becca Cooley placed 125th with a time of 22:36.2, and junior Maddie Wolfe finished 152nd at 22:50.3 to complete the Paladin scorers. Junior Ann Sisson notched a time of 23:30.7 to place 194th.
Following an off weekend next weekend, the Paladins will compete at the Southern Conference Championships on Oct. 31 in Greenville, S.C.
Chattanooga men, women place second at Front Runner Invitational
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Teghan Henderson led the women’s cross country team to a second-place finish at the Front Runner Invitational on a sunny but cool and windy afternoon at the Moccasin Bend Race Course. Junior Paul Stuart paced the men’s team to a second-place finish as well in the regular season finale.
Henderson crossed the line second overall with a time of 10:41.13, less than three seconds behind Middle Tennessee’s Josephine Kiptebeny. The Blue Raiders had two more runners in the top four and all five scoring runners in the top seven spots to win the meet with 21 points.
The men had a record day with every runner posting a personal-best time to finish second behind Middle Tennessee with 44 points to the Blue Raiders’ 19. MTSU placed all five scoring runners in the Top Seven with Stuart and Simone Colombini of Kennesaw State grabbing the other two spots.
Stuart’s PR time of 15:28.80 was good enough for his third straight fifth place finish this season and fourth Top 10. Freshman Mark Britt was the second UTC runner across the line with a PR time of 15:51.12 followed by Richard Guiry at 16:03.13 (PR) and John Payne who ran his first collegiate race of the year placing 10th with a time of 16:06.24.
The Mocs will prepare for the upcoming Southern Conference Championships on Oct. 31 in Greenville, S.C., hosted by Furman University.
UNCG cross country has strong showing at NCAA Pre-Nationals
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The UNCG cross country team returned to action after a two-week hiatus Saturday morning at the NCAA Pre-National meet in Louisville. Patrick O'Grady paced the men’s team with a 121st place finish in the unseeded men’s race clocking a 25:40.5 on the 8,000-meter course at E. P. ‘Tom’ Sawyer State Park. On the women’s side, Kathleen Mansure earned a top-50 finish in the women’s unseeded 6,000-meter race with a time of 21:41.0.
William Sandin was the second Spartan to finish on the men’s side with a personal best 25:40.4 to placed 158th overall. Bryan Whyms crossed the line in 26:07.2 while Dakarai Shipp and David Guthrie finished four places apart clocking a 26:21.2 and 26:32.6, respectively.
Luke Sumerford and Robert Anderson were the final two runners for UNCG, finishing 181st and 186th overall. As a team, the Spartans averaged 26:09.6 for the 8K course with a 30th place finish.
Katherine Link was the second finisher on the women’s team with a 22:10.2 finishing 85th overall. Eira Jensen just missed a top-100 finish placing 105th with a time of 22:23.0. Katlyn Ayers clocked a 23:29.9 while Katlyn Adkins wasn’t far behind her teammate crossing the line in 23 minutes and 46 seconds. Kayla Wetherell and ran a 23:36.8 running her fastest time of the season and Meredith Hicks was the final runner for the Spartans with a time of 26:42.7.
UNCG’s women’s squad finished 25th overall with an average time of 22:42.1.
The Spartans will have two weeks rest before traveling to Greenville, S.C., for the Southern Conference Championships Saturday, Oct. 31.
Mercer women finish second, men place fourth at Cross Country Only Invitational
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. - Mercer University freshman Ahmed Jama continued his strong freshman campaign, helping the Bears' men's cross country team to a fourth place finish at the Cross Country Only National Invitational.
Jama finished fourth overall with a personal-best time of 25:39.9, just shy of a minute faster than his previous mark. Cameron Gatt finished 15th overall with a time of 26:41.7, while Nicholas Ashmead (18th, 27:09.3) and Mark Brannen (19th, 27:18.9) also cracked the top 20.
Abraham Balawi closed out the Bears' Top-5 in 26th place with a time of 27:58.1, while Ross Porter followed closely behind in 28:00.9.
Mercer recorded an average time of 26:57.58, while totaling 82 points in the meet. Richmond won the event, while Marshall and Austin Peay rounded out the top three.
The Bears return to action on Oct. 31, when they compete in the Southern Conference Championships in Greenville, S.C.