Bulldogs Win Carolina Challenge
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Citadel men’s cross country team took first place in the Carolina Challenge on Saturday and the women’s team finished fourth in their respective heat.
The season opener for the men’s team consisted of five teams including the Bulldogs: Claflin, Savannah State, Benedict and Coastal Carolina. The women’s heat included host South Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern and Savannah State.
The Citadel men were led by Michael Lantz who finished the 5k in 16:15.04. The sophomore was followed closely by Ross Jordan with a time of 17:00. 84 and James Cunningham (17:35.25). Lantz and Jordan took first and second overall on the day.
For the women’s team, South Carolina took the top spot, followed closely by Coastal Carolina. Grace Jenkins paced The Citadel, finishing in 21:59.34. Emani Little (22:05.30) and Bethany Reeves (22:06.58) finished within one second of each other to finish 21st and 22nd overall.
“The women's team will show a great deal of improvement in the coming weeks,” Huddleston said. “We are a little banged up right now. Grace Jenkins had a solid showing, and with the return of Callian Collquit in the week or so we expect to stronger heading into the College of Charleston meet next weekend.”
Both teams return to action on Sept. 11 when they head to Conway, S.C. for the Coastal Carolina Invitational followed by the College of Charleston Invitational on Sept. 12.
Western Carolina Men Take First; Women Finish Third to Open Season
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – For the ninth straight season, the Western Carolina men’s and women’s cross country programs opened their season at home by hosting the Western Carolina Invitational. The Catamounts captured both the men’s and women’s individual titles while the men won the team championship and the women finished third.
Junior JC Cornett led the men’s effort as he won the 5K race with a time of 15:42.33. The Catamounts finished one-two in the race as freshman Liam Brooks made his collegiate debut by finishing second with a time of 15:44.47. One other Catamount captured a top-ten finish as senior Jamie Bigby crossed the line sixth with a time of 15:57.79.
The women were led by freshman Kaitlyn Lingard who made a splash in her collegiate debut by winning the event with a time of 11:24.79. The women competed on a two mile course. Senior Kaitlyn Shetler was WCU’s only other top-ten finisher as she crossed the line in 11:55.89 which placed her 10th.
The men edged mountain rival UNC Asheville by just one point in the team standings. WCU finished with a total of 43 points while the Bulldogs finished with 44. College of Charleston rounded out the top-three with 65 points.
On the women’s side, College of Charleston took the team title with just 29 points. UNC Asheville edged WCU for second by just two points with 54 while the Catamounts finished with 56.
Junior Tommy Connell crossed the line fourth for the men as he completed the course in 16:27.42 which earned him 16th overall. Rounding out WCU’s top-five was freshman Joel Freeman who came in 18th overall with a time of 16:31.72.
The third place finisher for the Catamount women was sophomore Madison Goode who placed 12th overall with a time of 11:57.82. Sophomore Laney Browder came across next in 14th overall after completing the course in 12:07.81. The final Catamount scorer was freshman Christina Nikolaou who clocked in at 12:17.39 good for 21st overall.
WCU will be back in action one week from today at the Furman Cross Country Classic in Greenville, S.C.
Chattanooga Women Fourth, Men Sixth at Belmont Opener
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior All-American Teghan Henderson placed third Saturday morning at the Belmont Opener to lead the Mocs to a fourth place finish while the men took sixth overall.
Henderson covered the 5K course in a time of 17:26.4, just 2.8 seconds off the top pace set by Belmont's Hannah Whitterman at 17:23.6. Vanderbilt's Caroline Pietrzyk placed second with a time of 17:24.3.
Sophomore Emily Drouin was the second Chattanooga runner across the line in a time of 18:39.0 placing 19th overall.
Junior Maddison Melchionna finished in a time of 19:05.0 followed by junior Anna Kate Chance at 19:12.3, senior Rebecca Greenwall with a time of 19:33.6 and sophomore Hannah Chamblin at 20:32.2.
The Mocs finished fourth with 94 points. Lipscomb was first with 32 points led by Sally Larson who placed fourth. Vanderbilt was second with 46 points and Belmont was third with 83 points.
Junior Paul Stuart paced the men to a sixth place finish after sitting out last season. He was eighth overall with a time of 15:37.7 over the 5K course.
Freshmen Jack Strevell and Richard Guiry both Nashville natives, finished 31st and 32nd respectively. Strevell covered the course in a time of 16:54.5 followed immediately by Guiry at 16:56.0. Freshman Mark Britt was the fourth UTC runner to finish at 17:09.3 with senior Zack Darby in a time of 17:13.7. Junior Austin Ethridge was the final Chattanooga runner to finish with a time of
The Mocs retun home to host the PowerAde Invitational Friday, Sept 11. The women's 2-mile race will begin at 5:45 p.m. at the Moccasin Bend Race Course followed by the men's 5K.