Sept. 3, 2007

BOONE, N.C. - Led by senior Mark Buckingham and freshman Matt Leeder, the Florida State men's cross country team took first place at the Covered Bridge Open hosted by Appalachian State. The Seminole women also dominated the competition as they finished second behind sophomore All-America Susan Kuijken.

The men's team finished first with a score of 25 in the 8k race, beating second-place hosts Appalachian State by 43 points. The women came in second behind 2006 NCAA South Regional champion Georgia, as they finished the 5k event with 35 points. This marks the seventh-straight year that both Seminole teams have finished in the top five at the race, held at the State Farm Fields in Boone, N.C. +Read More

Clemson
Women - 4th place
(Gamecock Invitational, Columbia, S.C.)

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Clemson women's cross country team opened its 2007 season on Friday at the Gamecock Invitational. The Lady Tiger program finished fourth overall out of 13 Division I schools. Two student-athletes, Laura Laughlin and Sunday Ford, placed in the top 10 individually at Hilton Field.

Charlotte won the team title at the meet with a total of 35 points. The 49ers were followed by College of Charleston (60) and South Carolina (83).

Laughlin earned a career-best finish with a fourth-place showing. She completed the 5K course with a time of 18:11.18, easily her best over a 5000m distance. Ford was eighth in the race with a time of 18:45.33, also a collegiate best for the Piedmont, S.C. native. +Read More

Maryland:
Men - Won 5 of 5; Women - Won 4 of 5
(Mount St. Mary's 5K Duals, Emmitsburg, Md.)

EMMITSBURG, Md. - Sophomore Mike Cator made the most of his first appearance in a University of Maryland uniform Friday by capturing the individual title at the Mount Saint Mary's 5K Duals cross country event.

Cator, a transfer from Marist College, covered the 5-kilometer course in 16:11.14, more than three seconds ahead of American senior Brian McCabe.

All five Maryland men finished among the top nine individuals, including Joe Simpson (fourth, 16:18.96), Drew Abernathy (sixth, 16:27.34), Ryan Shon (seventh, 16:33.72) and Kevin Gahr (ninth, 16:37.39).

The meet included six schools and was scored as five separate dual meets between each school. The Terrapin men won all five of their scoring pairings, having perfect 15-40 victories over George Washington, UMBC and Loyola. +Read More

Duke: Men - 3rd place
Virginia Tech: Men - 1st place; Women - 2nd place
Wake Forest: Men - 2nd place; Women - 1st place
(Wake Forest Relays, Winston-Salem, N.C.)

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's cross country team took the event title, while Marcus Dillon finished at the top of the men's results on Friday evening at the Wake Forest Relays.

Each school divided athletes into teams of two. Each runner ran two legs of 3.5k (for men) or 2.5k (for women) in tag-team fashion, for a total team distance of 14k/10k. The total time for each runner is the sum of both splits.

Nicole Schappert led WFU with 17:15 mark, placing second overall to help solidify the team win. Caitlin Chrisman, Merry Placer, Jessica Barton and Chelsea Bolton sealed the race victory by taking sixth through ninth places. +Read More

Clemson: Men - 1st place
(Western Carolina Invitational, Cullowhee, N.C.)

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Clemson men's cross country team took the top two positions Friday at the Western Carolina Invitational and cruised to an easy victory. The Tigers' victory was delayed because of lightning and rain, but Clemson came out strong following the break.

Clemson had 19 points and all five of its scorers finished inside the event's top eight. Mars Hill was a distant second with 59 points, while host Western Carolina finished third with 74. +Read More

North Carolina:
Men - 2nd place; Women - 1st place
(Carolina Challenge, Chapel Hill, N.C.)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina cross country teams opened the 2007 season on Saturday as the men and women both competed in the Tar Heels only home meet of the year. Addie Bracy paced the women with a time of 18:13.40 to capture the top spot in the race, while Alex Ray was the top runner for the men with a time of 15:38.10 good for third overall on the men's side.

The men opened the competition running a 5K instead of the traditional 8K the men tend to run as a warmup for the season. High Point claimed the team title placing four of the top five runners to score 19 total points. Carolina took second place as Alex Ray finished in third at 15:38.10 to lead the Tar Heels. Nick Hutchins and Zach Dawson were just six seconds apart at 16:04.40 and 16:10.90 to finish seventh and eighth overall and second and third for the Tar Heels. +Read More

Boston College:
Men - 3nd place; Women - 1st place
(New Hampshire Meet, Durham, N.H.)

DURHAM, N.H. - The Boston College women's cross country team jumpstarted its campaign by taking a first-place finish at a tri-meet against University of New Hampshire and Providence College at Durham, N.H. Saturday morning.

Led by team captain Mallory Champa's third place finish (17:27) in the three-mile race, the Eagles scored 30 points to top UNH (47 points) and Providence College (50 points). Champa joined sophomore Brielle Chabot (fourth place, 17:28), senior Nikki Tufts (sixth place, 17:31) and senior Jennifer Heyde (eight place, 18:10) as BC's top-five runners. +Read More