University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
ACC XC Championship
LeHardy Leads Women's Team to Cross Country Championship
October 31, 2014 | Cross Country
EARLYSVILLE, VA., -- The University of North Carolina women's cross country team ended an 11-year drought by claiming the ACC Cross Country Championship on Friday. The women's team finished the race with only 57 points to beat second place finisher, Florida State, by 42 points. The men's team finished in third with 95 points.
"It feels good," head coach Mark VanAlstyne said of the women's victory. "We talked all the time about the tradition of the cross country and track field programs at UNC, and what it means to have had all those great runners go before us and our commitment to uphold the standard that they set, every time we pull on the jersey, the uniform, so it means a great deal. Someone asked if it was us bringing UNC back to the top, and I said, 'you know, I don't feel like we ever left. There may have been a pause, maybe it's just the second golden age.' But we feel like at least now we can kind of step up and take our place in the great tradition that UNC has set over the years."
Ever since VanAlstyne came to coach at North Carolina, he and Harlis Meaders, the Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, have been striving to reach "The Better Blue." They both know this is a great step towards their goal, but it's a process over time.
"When we talk to the athletes about races, we don't talk so much about winning as engaging faithfully in the process," VanAlstyne said. "Putting ourselves in positions, believing in each other and cross country hurting for each other. So 'A Better Blue' to me is a process, and we try to take little steps toward it every day in hopes that one day we wake up and we embody that."
"I'm extremely proud of both our men's team and our women's team," Meaders said. "The ACC is one of the most competitive conferences for cross country and in a very short time Coach VanAlstyne, Coach [Angela] Reckart, Coach Logan [Roberts], and our cross country staff have put together an extremely competitive team. It just shows what we are truly capable of doing. I couldn't be happier for the ladies that chose Carolina - this freshman class - to hopefully continue this tradition of blue excellence. It's overwhelming. I share the same joy as the coach and the alumni that are glad to see our colors back on the top of the podium."
"This is a giant step in the right direction. We feel like our kids are as talented and intelligent as anyone else's in the country. This is just our way of taking the next step to show the world what we're capable of and what we're qualified to do. Is it a big step? Yes it is, but it's a long journey."
With multiple members running personal records, the women's team showed up ready for the ACC Championships. They came into the race ranked third in the ACC behind Florida State and Virginia. A determined Annie LeHardy who ran a personal record 20:09.5 led the women's team at Panorama Farms. LeHardy earned All-ACC honors for finishing fourth overall.
"This is just incredible," LeHardy said. "We've waited for so long for this moment. It's awesome. It's a great homecoming. I felt so good being back on this course that I ran well at last year. And I knew it was a really good course for our girls. We're a strong team, and this course, I think, played to our advantage. We were the underdogs, and we knew what we could do, and that gave us a little bit of a fire to see those rankings every week, and we knew what we were capable of. I'm not surprised, but I'm extremely happy."
Lianne Farber was only a few paces behind LeHardy and finished seventh overall. Farber redshirted the previous year so she could race this year with the team. The All-America timed in at 20:17.4 fighting off a surging Paige Kvartunas from Virginia Tech and earning All-ACC.
"Those two seniors - in fact all of our seniors today, all of the guys - they've taught me so much in two years, what it means to be committed to a program to each other," VanAlstyne said. "Lianne wanted to share this with these ladies. She wanted to come back, and we believed that we could do it. And I'm really in awe of them and their performance today."
Karley Rempel also earned All-ACC honors for her performance today. She broke her personal record by more than 30 seconds and placed 11th overall. Rempel passed two Virginia runners down the last stretch of the race. Caroline Alcorta was the fourth Tar Heel to finish and she also earned All-ACC Honors. She, too, broke her own personal record timing in at 20:43.3. Lizzy Whelan finished as the last Tar Heel scorer but still placing in the top-20 at 18th. Her run of 20:46.5 also earned her All-ACC Honors. Though Hannah Christen did not earn All-ACC honors, she still had a great performance for the Tar Heels, placing 22nd overall and setting a new personal record at 20:55.1.
The men's team had a solid team race taking third at the ACC Cross Country Championships. They gave it their all as all five scoring members of the men's team had personal records.
"The men gave everything they had," VanAlstyne said. "We wanted to run our style of race, which was aggressive and the race started out fast. At the 5k we were solidly in second place ahead of NC State, and you have to give them credit, we didn't come back, they came and got us. That's the ACC. It's the deepest cross country conference in the nation."
Ryan Walling was the top Tar Heel coming in 10th. Walling set a new personal record for himself in the 8k at 23:32.7. John Raneri finished 17th overall at 23:51.4, beating out Syracuse runner, Reed Kamyszek by 0.5 seconds. Pat Schellberg finished not far behind in 20th. The senior crossed the 24:00 barrier for the first time in his career at 23:55.5. Walling, Raneri, and Schellberg all earn All-ACC honors for the second straight year. Stephen Mulherin and Mark Derrick finished shortly after at 25th and 26th respectively. Mulherin finished in 24:09.2 while Derrick finished in 24:12.1.
The cross country teams race next week at the Adidas Three Stripe Invitational. Goheels.com will have performances and results at the conclusion of the meet.
Players Mentioned
