University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
ACC Championships
Women Finish Sixth, Men Eighth At ACC Championships
November 1, 2008 | Cross Country
Nov. 1, 2008
Complete Results |
Photo Gallery 
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -
Hosting its first ACC Championships since 1999 the North Carolina cross country teams looked to get a jump start on the championship season Saturday morning at the Ranson-Hamrick Cross Country course. The women opened the day's festivities with a sixth place finish as senior Brie Felnagle and junior Lauren Holesh both placed in the top five to earn All-ACC honors. The men finished eighth in the final race of the day as senior Brock Baker led the squad with a 30th place finish. The Tar Heels will now have a week to prepare for the NCAA Southeast Regionals set to be held in Clemmons, N.C. on Nov. 15.The trio of Florida State's Susan Kuijken, Virginia Tech's Tas Fanning and UNC's Brie Felnagle separated themselves from the rest of the pack midway through the opening race of the ACC Championships and challenged each other down the homestretch. The three were running stride for stride heading into the final turn of the race before Kuijken and Fanning slowly pulled away from Felnagle making their way to the finish line. Kuijken (20.11.0) was able to hold off Fanning's (20:11.6) late charge to claim her second straight individual title. Felnagle finished third overall for the second consecutive year with a time of 20:23.0.
Not far off the leader's pace was junior Laruen Holesh who continued her impressive 2008 run with a fifth-place finish crossing the line four seconds behind Florida State's Lesley Van Miert in a time of 20:36.0 to earn her first All-ACC honor. Finishing third for Carolina was senior Morgan Stengel who placed 29th in a time of 21:41.8 before newcomer Ashley Verplank placed 47th (22:07.6) as the fourth Tar Heel scorer. Sophomore Callan Fike closed out the scoring for Carolina as she clocked a time of 22:38.1 on the 6K course which placed her 60th overall and gave the Tar Heels a point total of 137 for the day.
Also competing for Carolina on Saturday was Kristy Longman (22:44.8, 64th), Courtlin LaReau (22:58.5, 72nd) and sophomore Becky Johnson (23:39.7, 96th). Florida State claimed the team title with only 27 points as all five scorers earned All-ACC honors. Boston College claimed second with 106 points, ahead of Wake Forest who took third with 112. The Tar Heels finished sixth overall behind the duo of Duke and Virginia who tied for fourth with 124 points.
Women's Team Scores
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Rank Team Total 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8 *9
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Results - Women
1 Florida State 58 15 32 1 4 6 7 9
Total Time: 1:44:33.60
Average: 20:54.72
2 Boston College 106 12 14 23 27 30 36 43
Total Time: 1:47:25.90
Average: 21:29.18
3 Wake Forest 112 11 16 22 25 38 72 74
Total Time: 1:47:33.40
Average: 21:30.68
4 Duke 124 18 19 26 28 33 39 45
Total Time: 1:47:56.70
Average: 21:35.34
4 Virginia 124 17 8 10 42 47 50 59
Total Time: 1:47:36.80
Average: 21:31.36
6 North Carolina 137 29 3 5 46 54 58 64
Total Time: 1:47:26.50
Average: 21:29.30
7 Virginia Tech 150 21 34 2 40 53 61 63
Total Time: 1:47:59.40
Average: 21:35.88
8 Clemson 170 13 20 41 44 52 60 67
Total Time: 1:49:19.50
Average: 21:51.90
9 Maryland 236 35 37 51 56 57 62 65
Total Time: 1:51:30.30
Average: 22:18.06
10 NC State 262 24 49 55 66 68 73
Total Time: 1:52:47.80
Average: 22:33.56
11 Georgia Tech 289 31 48 69 70 71 76 78
Total Time: 1:53:58.70
Average: 22:47.74
12 Miami 392 75 77 79 80 81 82
Total Time: 2:01:53.50
Average: 24:22.70
The men looked to improve on a 10th place finish a year ago and did just that Saturday as they placed eighth overall with 209 points. Senior leader Brock Baker stepped up for Carolina as he turned in an 8K race of 25:29.8 to claim the top spot on the team at 30th overall. Redshirt freshman Adam Cunningham and newcomer Evan Watchempino finished back-to-back giving the Tar Heels three runners in the top 35 as Cunningham finished 34th (25:35.8) before Watchmepino claimed 35th (25:37.2). Placing fourth for Carolina was another newcomer in senior Jeremy Cramer who finished in a time of 25:59.8 as he finished 54th overall. Less than 15 seconds behind Cramer was redshirt freshman John Curtiss who claimed 61st place as he crossed the line in 26:11.1.
Also in action for Carolina in the 55th annual men's cross country championship was junior Zack Dawson (26:27.7, 70th), senior Ian Bracy (26:33.8, 73rd), junior Matthew Kiplagat (27:01.9, 82nd) and senior Jeremy Hyder (27:12.9, 84th). Virginia's Ryan Foster took the overall title in 24:27.7 after finishing third a year ago. The Cavaliers made it back-to-back titles by placing four runners in the top 10 en route to a point total of 40. NC State claimed second place with 56 points, while Virginia Tech finished in third place with 75 total points. Florida State finished in fourth with 80 points edging out Duke who finished fifth with 127 points. The men's race also saw a tie as Maryland and Boston College shared sixth place with 199 points, 10 points ahead of Carolina's total of 209.
Men's Team Scores
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Rank Team Total 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8 *9
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Results - Men
1 Virginia 40 1 6 8 9 16 43
Total Time: 2:03:15.00
Average: 24:39.00
2 NC State 56 4 5 12 13 22 48 54
Total Time: 2:03:53.30
Average: 24:46.66
3 Virginia Tech 75 3 11 15 20 26 29 41
Total Time: 2:04:40.80
Average: 24:56.16
4 Florida State 80 7 14 17 18 24 27 32
Total Time: 2:04:39.40
Average: 24:55.88
5 Duke 127 10 25 28 31 33 42 44
Total Time: 2:06:30.10
Average: 25:18.02
6 Maryland 199 19 23 45 55 57 59 73
Total Time: 2:08:17.60
Average: 25:39.52
6 Boston College 199 2 36 46 53 62 64 68
Total Time: 2:08:28.20
Average: 25:41.64
8 North Carolina 209 30 34 35 52 58 63 66
Total Time: 2:08:53.70
Average: 25:46.74
9 Clemson 212 21 39 40 51 61 65 69
Total Time: 2:09:05.10
Average: 25:49.02
10 Georgia Tech 239 37 47 49 50 56 60 67
Total Time: 2:09:30.00
Average: 25:54.00
11 Wake Forest 342 38 71 72 80 81 82 83
Total Time: 2:17:44.70
Average: 27:32.94
12 Miami 372 70 74 75 76 77 78 79
Total Time: 2:19:38.90
Average: 27:55.78
Players Mentioned
