Cross Country NCAA Regional ACCtion: Saturday, November 14

Nov. 15, 2009

NCAA South Regional

Seminole Men and Women Finish Second at Regionals

The Florida State cross country teams (Men-No. 21/ Women- No. 9) punched their tickets to the NCAA Cross Country Championships this morning with both squads earning second place at the NCAA South Regional Championships with the women scoring 54 points and the men posting 80 points. A total of nine Seminoles were named All-South Region for their top 25 finish in the race. With the automatic bid, FSU now looks to battle at nationals November 23 in Terre Haute, Ind.

The Seminole men opened up the championships with an impressive 10K run that saw three ‘Noles post personal record times. Junior and team captain Matt Leeder led the team with a fourth place finish in 30:08.41 while co-captain and senior Daniel Roberts followed in eighth place in 30:17.32. Rounding off the top 25 was newcomer Ciaran O’Lionard taking 20th in 31:07.88 and Wes Rickman quickly following as the first freshman to finish in 23rd with a time of 31:10.50. All four men earned All-South Region honors.

As for the women, Coach Harvey looked to Pilar McShine and Pasca Cheruiyot to pace FSU in the 6k as senior and captain Susan Kuijken did not compete. McShine was the first ‘Nole to finish with a personal-record time of 20:31.15 to earn sixth place, while Cheruiyot took seventh place in 20:31.28. Sophomore Jennifer Dunn posted a time of 20:46.29 to finish in 13th with freshmen Jessica Parry and Amanda Winslow following in 15th (20:51.62) and 19th (20:59.03) to round off the top 25 and earn All-South Region.

Georgia Tech Women's Cross Country 10th, Men 11th at NCAA South Region Championships

Sophomore Mary Kate DuBard finished 22nd to lead the Georgia Tech women's cross country team to a 10th place finish at the 2009 NCAA South Region Championships held on the Harry Pritchard Running Course in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Saturday. The Yellow Jacket men's team finished 11th at the event.

Dubard, ran the 6k course at the University of Alabama in 21:01.63 to earn All-Regional honors for the second straight season. In all, Dubard has led all Yellow Jacket runners in five of the six events on the year.

For the men, senior Greg Johnson was Tech's top finisher, running the 10k course 32:11.14 to place 49th. Senior Matt Hickey placed 57th in 32:30.88, while freshman Patrick Barron finished 76th in 32:58.08.

Miami Competes in NCAA Cross Country South Regional

The University of Miami men's and women's cross country teams ran in the NCAA South Regional Championships on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Junior Katharine Woodard, who has been the Hurricanes top finisher the last two races, once again was the first Miami runner to cross the finish line in the 6K course - in a time of 22:52.23. Anna Bona was the second UM runner to finish at 23:19.35. Joining Bona in running new personal-bests, was Emma Steppe and Janet Price at 23:31.39 and 23:53.09 respectively. Junior Cailtin Knapp rounded out the top five for the `Canes.

The men running on their first 10K course of the season, saw a similar result. Junior Charles Michel was the team's top finisher - as he was in each race during the 2009 season - with a time of 34:22.45. Just five places behind Michel was freshman Greg Kaczka at 34:30.85. Senior Julio Bonilla was the third Hurricane to finish at 35:33.48. Reginald Buford and Matthew Wilson were fourth and fifth respectively for Miami.

NCAA Southeast Regional

Duke Women's Cross Country Wins Region Title

The Duke University women's cross country team won its first region championship since bringing home back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005, while the men finished fourth on their side Saturday at the NCAA Southeast Regional, hosted by the University of Louisville.

Four Duke harriers earned all-region honors, led by sophomore Carly Seymour. The Ebensburg, Pa., native ran 20:28.85 over 6K to take fifth place out of 237 finishers. Senior Kate Van Buskirk was not far behind in sixth place with a time of 20:34.20, marking the third time she has earned all-region honors in her Duke career.

On the men's side, Duke totaled 131 points to finish fourth out of 35 teams. Eighth-ranked William and Mary won its second consecutive title, while No. 16 N.C. State (99 points) finished second and No. 24 Louisville (121 points) took third. The Blue Devils narrowly edged fifth-place and No. 19 Virginia (133 points) for their first victory over the Cavaliers in three tries this season.

Junior Bo Waggoner led all Duke runners with a 13th-place effort out of 231 finishers. Waggoner covered the 10K course in 30:30.12 to earn his second all-region honors in as many years.

Virginia's White Wins First-Ever Southeast Regional Championship

Junior Catherine White won the individual title at the 2009 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships on Saturday to become the first-ever Cavalier to earn a regional title. White led the No. 19 women’s squad to a runner-up finish behind No. 15 Duke to claim an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships. Virginia’s No. 19 men’s squad finished fifth and will await word on an at-large selection to nationals, which will be announced tomorrow at 7 p.m.

White completed the course in 20:03.90 to earn individual honors. She was trailed by sophomore Morgane Gay, junior Stephanie Garcia and senior Lauretta Dezubay, respectively, who each earned all-region honors. Gay crossed within a steady slew of competitors, completed the course in 20:39.44 for eighth place. Garcia took 18th in 21:05.32, while Dezubay was 25th with a time of 21:25.51. Sophomore Laurel MacMillan rounded out the scoring Cavaliers with a 62nd-place finish in 22:08.66.

On the men’s side, running their first 10k of the season, junior All-American Emil Heineking led the Cavaliers with a seventh-place finish in 30:16.55, while sophomore Ryan Collins finished 14th with a time of 30:38.75 and junior Graham Tribble took 21st in 30:55.59 to each earn all-region honors. Junior Trey Miller finished in 31:42.98 for 44th and freshman Sintayehu Taye finished 47th in 31:50.04.

NC State Men’s Cross Country 2nd, Women 3rd at Regional

Four NC State runners placed on the all-regional team to lift the Wolfpack to a second-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Cross Country Regional, held Saturday at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky.

With the second-place finish, NC State’s men automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, to be held November 23 at Terre Haute, Ind. The Wolfpack qualified for the national meet for the 14th time in the last 15 seasons.

Sophomore Ryan Hill paced the Pack with a third-place finish. Senior John Martinez was 10th, sophomore Bobby Moldovan 15th and redshirt-freshman Patrick Campbell 19th. All four placed on the all-regional team by virtue of finishing in the top 25.

In the women’s race, NC State finished third behind Duke and Virginia. The Blue Devils had 69 points to easily outdistance the Cavaliers’ 113. NC State was third with 135. William & Mary was fourth with 145, and North Carolina was fifth with 167.

Senior Brittany Tinsley paced NC State, finishing fourth in the individual standings. Sophomore Emily Pritt was seventh. Both were on the all-regional team. The Wolfpack will hold out hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, which will be determined by regular-season criteria and will be announced on Sunday, November 15. If the Pack does not receive an at-large team bid, Tinsley and Pritt still would have a strong chance of receiving individual bids to the national NCAA meet, based on strong showings at the regional.

UNC Women Place Fifth, Men Sixth at Southeast Regional

The North Carolina men's and women's cross country teams took their chances in the post-season on Saturday at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park, finishing sixth and fifth, respectively. The Tar Heels will have to wait until Sunday to see if their post-season dreams can come true when the NCAA will announce at-large bids.

Redshirt sophomore Adam Cunningham ran a fast-paced 30:46.85 in the 10,000-meters to take 17th place and be the first Tar Heel to cross the line. This marks Cunningham's best finish in a national event.

For the women, sophomore Ashley Verplank came off her All-ACC honors to finish 20th in the 6,000-meters. Verplank ran in 21:14.34 to finish first among the Tar Heel women.

Senior Lauren Holesh, who earned a bid to the NCAA National Championships last season, and freshman Mariana Lucena when two-three for Carolina and 23rd-24th for the meet. Holesh scored a personal best 6K time with 21:22.24. Lucena made her debut in the post-season with her time of 21:24.49.

Cornwall earns all-region honors at NCAA Southeast Regional

Senior Devin Cornwall earned all-region honors and helped the Virginia Tech men’s cross country squad to an eighth-place finish to highlight the Hokies’ day at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday. The Tech men tallied 238 points at the meet, while the Hokie women recorded 474 points en route to a 15th-place effort.

Junior Matt Kroetch and sophomore Brian Welch followed Cornwall as the second and third Hokies across the finish line, respectively. Kroetch placed 30th, while Welch took 45th. Sophomore Michael Hammond and senior Paul LaPenna rounded out the Hokie scoring with 62nd and 84th-place showings, respectively.

On the women’s side, junior Jessica Trapeni led the Hokies, clocking 22:16.26 in the 6,000-meter race for 55th place out of 237 athletes. Several underclassmen also received some valuable experience at the regional meet. Sophomore Sammy Dow, who won ACC Women’s Performer of the Week last week, came in 66th. Sophomore Lauren Pinkston earned 105th, and freshman Lauren Lemieux followed her in 107th. Fellow freshman Kelly Kavanaugh closed out the Hokie scoring, finishing in 153rd.

Clemson Women Finish 12th, Men 15th at NCAA Southeast Regionals Saturday

Clemson sophomore Kim Ruck finished 11th Saturday at the NCAA Southeast Regional at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park to lead the cross country team efforts. Ruck's all-region performance led the women's team to a 12th-place finish. The Clemson men finished 15th as a team.

Ruck's 11th-place showing was the best by a Clemson female at the regional level since Mareike Ressing was fifth in 1993. It was the second straight season a Clemson female was named to the all-region team. Jenna Baker, who did not compete Saturday because of injury, was 12th last season.

The men's team was once again paced by the efforts of Chris Slate and Jonathan Sunde, both juniors. Slate had a time of 32:19.82, a personal best at the 10,000m distance, and placed 66th. Sunde was close behind in 74th with a time of 32:32.09. Bryce Iverson was in action for the second straight week. He showed great improvement over last week and had a time of 32:37.17 in an 80th-place showing. Tyler Morey and Patrick Jagielski rounded out the scoring efforts for the Tigers.

Wake Forest Finishes 17th and 19th at 2009 NCAA Southeast Regionals

Sophomore Anna Nosenko garnered her second all-region honor as she finished 13th overall of 237 harriers at the 2009 NCAA Southeast Regional Championships, hosted by the University of Louisville at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park Course on Saturday. Freshman Garret Drogosch's time of 32:23.08 led the Deacons, as he placed 72nd overall out of a field 231 runners.

Nosenko finished the 6-kilometer course in 20:51.78, crossing the finish first for the Wake Forest women for the fifth time this year. Junior Marley Burns was the next Deacon in 69th, recording a time of 22:18.18. In 106th, redshirt sophomore Caitlin Crawford completed the course in 22:50.04. Redshirt junior Whitney Curry and freshman Allison Homer rounded out the scoring for Wake Forest in 143rd (23:16.18) and 178th place (23:49.54), respectively.

In the men's race, Drogosch led the team to a 17th-place finish out of 35 teams. The team totaled 513 points. Freshman Devin Huizenga was second for the Deacons, which marked his top team place on the season, and 96th overall after completing the 10K in 32:52.63.

Wake Forest continued to finish its top runners within mere seconds of each other. Redshirt junior Keaton Morgan crossed the finish fewer than seven seconds after Huizenga, with a time of 32:59.2, good for 106th place. Redshirt senior Jeremy Fisico wrapped up his collegiate cross country course with a fourth-place showing and a time of 33:11.91. Freshman Sam Foster completed the top-five with a 33:20.8 in 124th place.

Mid-Atlantic Regional

Lundy Earns Return Trip to Nationals

Alex Lundy of the University of Maryland earned a return trip to the NCAA Division I Nationals with his sixth-place individual finish Saturday at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals hosted by Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Lundy was the first individual finisher not on an advancing team, thereby getting a berth as an individual to the nationals, to be held Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind. A year ago, he became the first Maryland individual to compete at nationals in recent memory after a 10th-place regional finish.

As a team, the Maryland men finished 10th, one place better than their team placing a year ago. The Terps scored 299 points, five lower than last year's team score.

On the women's side, senior Kristin Reed placed 31st to lead the Terrapin women to the line, finishing the 6K course in 22:19. Maryland matched its sixth-place team finish from a year ago, scoring 246 points.

The Terps' team finish was bolstered by their five scorers finishing within 57 seconds, a trend that has occurred throughout the season. Ashley Campbell was 47th in 22:50, Ashlyn Sinclair was 54th overall and a season-best third on the team in 23:03, Angeli Sivaraman was 59th in 23:13 and Christina Nelson was the final scorer in 63rd at 23:16. Julie Fricke (97th, 23:58) and Andrea Rothschild (99th, 23:58) were the Terps' sixth and seventh finishers.

Northeast Regional

Boston College story to follow.