Nov. 23, 2009

FSU Women Make History And Capture Second Place At NCAA Cross Country Championship

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Florida State women's cross country team continued to make school history as head coach Karen Harvey led the Seminoles to capture second place at the NCAA Cross Country Championships Monday, November 23, by posting five 'Noles in the top 46 to score 133 points. The men's ensemble finished in 30th with 612 points. The Lavern Gibson Championship Course welcomed the nation's most elite athletes as it saw Villanova dominating the women's race with 86 points and Oklahoma State crushing the opposition to earn first place on the men's front with 127 points.

With Coach Harvey's guidance, the Seminoles ran the 6k with several impressive times that included three Seminoles earning NCAA All-American status for their top 40 finish. In one of her toughest races of her collegiate career, senior and captain Susan Kuijken battled all the way to the finish line for a third place spot with a time of 19:58. Newcomer Pasca Cheruiyot was the second 'Nole to finish in 15th with a time of 20:23, while freshman Amanda Winslow crushed her previous personal record with a new time of 20:44 to finish in 33rd place. Sophomore Jennifer Dunn recorded a 36th place finish with 20:47, while junior Pilar McShine came in 46th with a time of 21:00.

As for the Seminole men, junior and co-captain Matt Leeder was the first 'Nole to finish in 43rd with a time of 30:30, while senior and fellow co-captain Daniel Roberts came in 89th with a finish time of 31:04. Newcomer Ciaran O'Lionard was the next Seminole in at 147th in 31:42 with sophomore Mike Fout coming in at 151st place with 31:47 and ACC Freshman of the Year Wes Rickman taking 182nd with a time of 32:26.

UVa's White Earns All-America Honors, Finishes Fourth at NCAAs

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Virginia men's and women's cross country teams concluded their respective seasons with matching 15th-place finishes at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course on Monday.

The women were led by junior Catherine White who earned All-America honors with a fourth-place overall finish, completing the course in 19:59.5 to become the highest finisher for the Cavaliers since Lesley Welch's victory in 1982. Junior Stephanie Garcia finished 44th for Virginia with a time of 20:47.6, while senior Lauretta Dezubay was 92nd in 21:15.5. Sophomore Morgane Gay finished with a time of 21:24.8 to finish 116th and sophomore Laurel MacMillan finished 220th in 22:25.1.

Sophmore Ryan Collins led Virginia's men with a 41st-place finish and a time of 30:22.0, narrowly missing All-America honors. Junior Emil Heineking was second for Virginia finishing 68th in 30:36.7, while freshman Sintayehu Taye, competing in his first-ever NCAA Championship, took 122nd, crossing the line in 31:08.8. Junior Graham Tribble, with a time of 31:13.9 finished 133rd and junior Trey Miller rounded out the scoring Cavaliers in 141st place with a time of 31:18.1.

NC State's Hill, Pritt Make All-America At Cross Country

Sophomores Ryan Hill and Emily Pritt necame NC State's first All-Americans since 2006 on Monday when both finished in the top 40 at the NCAA Cross Country Championships at Terre Haute, Ind. Runners who finish in the top 40 at the NCAA Championships are named All-Americans. In the case of Hill and Pritt, however, both ran very strong individual races and were in the top 20 in their respective races.

Pritt is the first woman's All-American for the Wolfpack since Julia Lucas and Bona Jones. Hill is the first NC State men's runner to make All-America in cross country since Bobby Mack in 2004. The last time NC State had All-Americans on both the women's and men's teams in the same year was in 2001, when Chris Seaton and Chad Pearson were All-Americans for the men, and Megan Coombs, Kristen Price and Katie Sabino were All-Americans for the women.

The NC State men finished 27th in the men's race, the 21st time in the last 26 years that the Wolfpack has finished in the national top 30.

Duke's Seymour Garners All-America Honors at NCAA's

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Sophomore Carly Seymour earned All-America honors as the Duke University men's and women's cross country teams concluded the 2009 season Monday at the NCAA Championships, hosted by Indiana State University.

Thirty-one teams competed on both sides as the Blue Devil women turned in an eighth-place effort, their highest NCAA team finish since the 2005 squad earned third place, while the Duke men tied for 28th.

"Every single person ran their best race of the season," head women's cross country coach Kevin Jermyn said. "They crossed the line with a smile on their faces. We started out conservative and way back in the pack, but kept our confidence and composure and moved up in the final 5K. We were at about 20th place at the halfway point and moved up to eighth at the end."