Nov. 20, 2007

FSU Women Take Third, Men Take 20th at NCAA Cross Country Championships

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The No. 2-ranked Florida State women's cross country squad finished third with 236 points at the NCAA Championships on the heels of sophomore All-America Susan Kuijken's individual third-place performance. Florida State's No. 23-ranked men raced to a 454 point, 20th place finish, led by senior Luke Gunn.

Prior to today's race, the Seminole women's best finish was a 18th place, 455 point mark in 2003. This was just the fourth time the women had ever competed at nationals and the sixth time for the men.

"Third place is awfully great," said head coach Bob Braman. "And obviously having two girls in the top ten is excellent as well. Coach [Karen] Harvey did an amazing job--third in the country is fantastic. That's three straight years she's been in the top ten, now."

Cavaliers Finish 12th at NCAA Championships

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Virginia men's cross country team finished 12th at the NCAA Championships, the highest finish for the program since 1985. The Cavaliers, the highest-finishing ACC squad, were led by Jan Foerster, who finished 42nd overall with a time of 30:37.1 over the 10K race. On the women's side, Emily Harrison continued her strong season, capping it off with a sixth-place finish in 20:15.0 over the 6K, the highest for a Cavalier woman since 1982 when Lesley Welch won the individual title.

Rookie Emil Heineking, the ACC Freshman of the Year, was UVa's second runner and was the fourth freshman to finish the race with his 30:43.6. He was two seconds off earning All-American honors.

Tar Heels Finish In 27th at NCAA Championships; Felnagle Places 11th

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Junior Brie Felnagle earned her second straight All-America honors on Monday as she crossed the finish line in 11th place at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. The Tar Heels finished 27th with 493 points as a team in their 10th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championships. Stanford claimed its second consecutive team title finishing with 145 points.

Felnagle tackled the 6K course in 20:29 and was the top runner for the Tar Heels at the national championships for the third consecutive year. Placing second for Carolina was senior Megan Kaltenbach who finished in 68th with a time of 21:31. Addie Bracy finished 111th overall and third on the squad as she crossed the line in 21:52.

Virginia Tech's Tasmin Fanning Finishes 12th at NCAA Championships

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Tasmin Fanning placed 12th out of 255 runners at the NCAA Women's Cross Country Championships on Monday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind. Fanning completed the 6k course in 20:32.

After a 77th-place finish in last season's NCAA Championships with a 6k time of 21:55, the junior from Charlottesville, Va., benefited from experience and saved her best effort for the later stages of the race

Duke's McKeever Earns All-America Accolades At NCAA Championships

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Duke women's cross country team placed 24th overall on Monday afternoon with 484 points in the NCAA Championships, their final meet of the season. The six-kilometer race was hosted by Indiana State University at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. Junior Maddie McKeever finished 21st, which automatically qualified her for All-America honors for the second year in a row.

McKeever, a native of Littleton, Colo., took 21st place in a time of 20:45.5. By finishing in the top-25 of all American runners at the NCAA Championships, McKeever instantly achieved All-America status for the fourth time in her career as a Duke cross country and track and field runner. She had already attained All-ACC and All-Southeast Region honors for the second consecutive season in cross country.

Sophomore captain Kate Van Buskirk placed 67th in Terre Haute with a 21:19.5 clocking. In the four meets that McKeever and Van Buskirk have entered for Duke, they have finished one-two. Van Buskirk had earned All-Region and All-ACC honors already in 2007.

NC State Men Finish 18th, Women 29th At NCAA Meet

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - NC State wrapped up the 2007 cross country season Monday at the NCAA Championships, with the men finishing 18th and the women 29th in their respective races.

The men took 18th with a team score of 439 points. Redshirt-senior Tibor Vegh paced the men's team, finishing 78th overall and running the 10k course in a time of 30:59.1. Stephen Furst, also a fifth-year senior, was 93rd at 31:04.7, with redshirt-junior Gavin Coombs 115th at 31:15.1. Redshirt-seniors Wes Smith, 128th at 31:21.9, and Chris Kollar, 137th at 31:25.3, rounded out the scoring for the Wolfpack.

Boston College Women Place 30th Overall

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The women's cross country team raced in its third consecutive NCAA Championship, placing 30th, on Monday, Nov.19.

Hosted by Indiana State University, the Eagles finished the 6,000-meter race in a pace of 21:59, combining for a time of 1:49.51. Their pace was a full 3:80 faster than the performance at the 2006 NCAA Championship. Leading the pack was sophomore Brielle Chabot, who placed 56th in a time of 21:17. She finished the 2007 race 1:35 faster than last year.

On the men's side, senior captain Patrick Mellea was the Eagle's lone runner for the 10,000-meter championship. He finished the race in 31:36.5. Josh McDougal of Liberty won the race outright, crossing the finish line in 29:22.4.

Clemson's Matt Clark Concludes Cross Country Season at NCAA Championships

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Red-shirt senior Matt Clark concluded his cross country career Monday at the NCAA Championships. The Hyannis, MA native had a time of 31:49.7 on the 10,000m course and finished 185th out of 250 competitors.

Clark was a three-time All-Region and two-time All-ACC performer in cross country for the Tiger program. He was ninth at the Southeast Regionals two weeks ago in Louisville, KY.

Georgia Tech's Herren Finishes 211th at NCAA Cross Country Championships

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Georgia Tech cross country senior David Herren placed 211th in the 10k race at the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course on Monday.

Herren finished with a time of 32:23 in the race hosted by Indiana State University. He had a time of 15:42 in the first 5k of the race and was at a time of 25:41 at the 8k mark.