Furman Cross Country Teams Win Queens Twilight Meet
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Furman cross country teams won the Queens Twilight meet Friday at Freedom Park in Charlotte, N.C. to open the 2015 season. The Paladin men scored 15 points for the victory, while the Paladin women tallied 21 points in the win.
Furman runners took the top 10 spots in the men’s 5K race, with the top seven finishers all completing the race within a second of each other. Sophomore Aaron Templeton was first with a time of 14:56.3, while junior Matt Lange placed second, also at 14:56.3. Junior Lee Shearer and sophomore Austin Sprague were third and fourth, respectively, at 14:56.5, while Ryan Adams ran unattached and took fifth with a time of 14:56.7. Junior Kyle Polman and sophomore Mark Hadley posted times of 14:56.9 for sixth and seventh place.
Junior Brock Baker also competed as an unattached athlete, placing eighth (14:57.6), while junior Josh Brickell finished ninth with a time of 14:58.3. Sophomore Frank Lara rounded out the top 10 at 14:59.9. Sophomore Quintin McKinnish placed 13th with a time of 15:01.3, and senior Jack Miller recorded a 19th-place finish (15:43.5). Sophomore Hayden Cox completed the Paladin slate, turning in a time of 16:16.1 for 36th place.
The Paladin women placed all six runners among the top eight, as junior Allie Buchalski won the individual title with a time of 17:12.7 on the 5K course, followed by junior Laura Miller in second with a time of 17:17.6. Sophomore Becca Cooley placed fifth at 17:42.3, while junior Maddie Wolfe claimed sixth place after crossing the line in 17:58.1. Juniors Ann Sisson and Bryce Seymour finished back-to-back in seventh (18:12.8) and eighth (18:15.4) place, respectively.
The Paladins will compete at the Furman University Cross Country Classic on September 12.
Wofford Cross Country Opens 2015 Season
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College men’s and women’s cross country teams opened the 2015 season on Friday night at the 32nd Eye Opener Invitational at the Roger Milliken Research Center. Both teams ran primarily underclassmen in the meet, with several strong performances.
“We run this meet primarily for the freshmen to give them a chance in a low key meet,” said head coach Johnny Bomar. “For most of the guys this was their first time racing an 8K. This was a good chance to get some experience early in a home meet. Some of the guys have a chance to be in our top five, so I am excited about that. The top three girls today more than likely will be in our top five as well. Everyone put in a lot of work over the summer and I am looking forward to the season.”
In the women’s 5K race, freshman Rebekah Fadgyas was the top finisher for the Terriers at 20:03.69 and seventh place overall. Freshman Alexandra Foster was eighth at 20:07.05. Other runners for Wofford included freshman Jamie Barnett, sophomore Alexandra Christopoulos, freshman Rebeka Parent, junior Morgan Schweers, and freshman Mollie Gollicher.
The men’s 8K competition followed and Wofford freshman Cisco Ferre finished 13th overall with a time of 27:26.50. Freshman Dane Szalwinski was 22nd overall at 28:17.17. Also running for the Terriers were freshman Ben Boatright, sophomore Ben Hensley, sophomore Will Stutts, junior David Grant, and junior Kenneth Atwood.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will be back in action on Saturday, September 12 at the Furman Cross Country Classic.
DeNijs, King Pace VMI Cross Country
BOONE, N.C. - Daniel DeNijs finished eighth overall, pacing the VMI men's cross country team at the squad's season opener, the Covered Bridge Open contested in Boone, N.C. Friday evening. VMI finished fourth in the team standings. On the women’s side, Bethany King finished 43rd overall as VMI finished fifth.
DeNijs crossed the line on the 6,400-meter course in 20:32 and was the second runner to do so that was not from Florida or Florida State. Avery Martin was VMI's #2 runner, finishing 14th in 20:46, and Brandon White placed 25th overall in 21:04.
King crossed the stripe in 19:59 on the 5K course to serve as VMI's top finisher for the first time in her career. The Keydets finished with 161 team points, fifth in a race won by Florida State's 29 markers. Florida finished second with 42 points and Appalachian State was third with 54 points. East Carolina (fourth, 112), Mars Hill (sixth, 180) and Lees-McRae (seventh, 209) rounded out the team standings.
"This was a job well done by our teams," said VMI’s director of track and field and cross country, Darrin Webb. "We have trained hard on the course and in the weight room, and today, our athletes competed and raced well. We will evaluate each individual and continue to move forward throughout the season with an eye toward the conference championship."
VMI cross country will return to action Sept. 12, when the Keydets compete at the Furman XC Classic in Greenville, S.C. The event will serve as a preview meet for the Southern Conference Championships.
Cross Country Opened Season at Elon University
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG cross country teams opened the 2015 season Friday evening as they travelled to the Elon University Opener. The Spartan placed fourth in both the men’s and women’s events, sending 10 runners on the men’s side but only six runners on the women’s side.
The men’s side ran a 6,000-meter course in its first action of the season. Sophomore Bryan Whyms led the way with a 15th place showing in a time of 19:29 while junior Patrick O’Grady was 18th overall with a tie of 19:30.
Three freshmen made their UNCG debuts Friday as William Sandin finished 23rd in 19:41, Robert Anderson finished 29th in 20:02 and Nicholas Erwin was 37th in 22:30.
The women’s side only ran six runners and used the race as a pace workout for the team, leaving its top four runners at home this weekend. Leading the way for the Spartans was junior Katlyn Adkins who finished in 21st place overall with a time of 16:23 in the 4,000-meter race. Two freshmen made their collegiate debuts Friday in Kayla Wetherell and Amy Moret.
Men’s Cross Country Finishes Fourth at Struts Season Opener
MACON, Ga. – Mercer freshman Ahmed Jama finished 15th overall in his collegiate debut to lead the men's cross country team to a fourth place finish at the 5k Struts Season Opener on Friday night at the Jacksonville State Cross Country Course.
The Bears, who claimed the 2014 Struts Season Opener title, posted an average time of 16:23 en route to 114 points, despite featuring a top-7 of all underclassmen after replacing its top-5 from a year ago. Georgia claimed the team title, while Georgia Tech and Troy rounded out the top three.
Jama completed the 5k course in 15:31.9 thanks to an average mile below five minutes to rank second among all freshmen at the meet. The Woodstock, Ga., native's time eclipsed Davis Trexler's 2014 winning time by nearly 45 seconds.
Sophomore transfer Cameron Gatt crossed the line in 19th place with a time of 16:13.5, followed by freshman Evan Park (16:40.0) and sophomore Nicholas Ashmead (16:43.1) in 25th and 26th respectively. Sophomore Mark Brannen rounded out the scoring for Mercer, finishing 29th with a time of 16:47.2.
Freshmen Justin Hanson and Abraham Balawi were next for the Bears, finishing 32nd and 34th with times of 17:06.4 and 17:10.0. McHenry Power (17:21.0), Ross Porter (17:31.9) and Aurelien Bourgeon (17:50.7) closed out Mercer's participants on Friday.
Mercer will be back in action next Saturday, when it travels to Greenville, S.C. to compete in fellow Southern Conference member Furman's Cross Country Classic on Saturday, Sep. 12.