University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Notre Dame Invitational
Felnagle Opens Season In Impressive Fashion
October 3, 2008 | Cross Country
Oct. 3, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Senior Brie Felnagle opened her final cross country campaign with a dominant performance at the Notre Dame Invitational as she led the Tar Heels to a 14th place finish. Felnagle battled a common foe Friday afternoon in Florida State's Susan Kuijken and edged out the fellow All-America by five seconds to claim the individual title in personal-best fashion, 16:21. The Tar Heel men finished 15th overall as the duo Zack Dawson and Evan Watchempino led the Carolina brigade.
After having the opening weeks of the cross country season to bounce back from her heavy workload during the summer that featured an appearance in the U.S. Olympic Trials, Felnagle returned to her familiar number one spot with the Tar Heels. Felnagle tackled the 5K course in 16:21 for her first victory of the 2008 season.
Junior Lauren Holesh turned in another stellar effort, her second in as many meets, as she finished 15th overall in a time of 17:03. In the process, Holesh shattered her previous 5K best mark of 18:05 set at the UNC Challenge in the season opener.
Morgan Stengel finished third for the Tar Heels at the 18:08 mark to finish 101st overall and 99th in the team scoring. Just two spots behind Stengel was newcomer Ashley Verplank who finished the race in a time of 18:09.
Closing out the scoring for Carolina was Courtlin LaReau who finished 137th in the team scoring as she crossed the line in 18:33. Also in competition for the Tar Heels on Friday afternoon were the duo of Dominique Jackson and Callan Fike who finished just two spots apart. Jackson finished in a time of 19:06, while Fike was two seconds behind her at 19:08.
Florida State claimed the team title with a combined score of 88 with Princeton finishing second with 124 and Michigan claiming third with 136. The Tar Heels will return to action in two weeks, once again in Indiana, at the NCAA Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind.
Zack Dawson paced the Tar Heel men with his time of 24:34 which was good for 49th overall. Just two spots behind Dawson was Carolina newcomer Evan Watchempino, coming off his impressive victory at the UNC Challenge tackled the course in 24:36, finishing just two spots behind Dawson giving Carolina a formidable one-two punch.
Redshirt freshman Adam Cunningham was the third Tar Heel to cross the line as he placed 88th with a mark of 24:59. Fellow redshirt freshman John Curtiss placed fourth on the team Friday when he finished 104th overall as he completed the 8K event in a time of 25:10. Closing out the scoring for Carolina was senior Brock Baker who posted a time of 25:25, narrowly edging out a pair of runners for 130th.
Also competing for the Tar Heels in Notre Dame were newcomer Jeremy Cramer and senior Ian Bracy. Cramer finished 150th in a time of 25:43, while Bracy ran the event in 26:10 for a 176th place finish.
Florida State also captured the men's title as they scored 81 points, 45 fewer than second place Tulsa who edged out Texas A&M who finished third.
Players Mentioned
