UNF runs through crowded field
10/11/2008 6:24:10 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Pearce, Adams lead cross country teams at Furman
Women's Results
Greenville
The men came in just behind Furman, Samford and Marshall for fourth place in the 8k race. Will Pearce led the flock for the men with his highest showing of the season and top-10 debut, finishing ninth in a time of 27:22. Behind him were Tyler Hall, Craig Sinbine and Patrick Canfield in 23rd, 25th and 26th place, respectively. Each of the three had a personal best placement for the race, a continuation of the trend of improvement that started with the FSU Invitational two weeks ago and a good sign as the team prepares for the Atlantic Sun Championship. Rounding out the top five was Jonathan Esteban in 37th place with a time of 28:29. Six of UNF's eight runners finished in the top 50.
"We were a little flat today,” UNF head coach Mark VanAlstyne said. “We had some very good individual performances from Will Pearce, Tyler Hall and a few others, but we are going to have to pick it up a notch for the A-Sun Championship."
The women also had a great race, led by Hillary Adams who had an 11th-place finish (19:36). Behind her was Brooke Baumann (32nd), Jessica Villemaire (40th), Evelyn Moore (47th) and Melissa Sams (48th), rounding out UNF's top five. Out of seven UNF runners, five placed in the top 50. Baumann, Villemaire, Moore, Kayla Conrad and Charlotte Anderson each had a personal-best ranking in the race for the Lady Ospreys.
"On the women's side, we did pretty well despite having our number two, Erin Heasley, out,” VanAlstyne said. “We competed with South Carolina Upstate, which is in ranked ahead of us in our conference, so we feel like we could be pretty competitive with Erin back in."
The women came in behind Samford, Furman, the College of Charleston, Tennessee Tech and Upstate.
"Overall it was nice to get some new competition and to shake things up a bit. It was a good trip overall for the team," VanAlstyne said.
The teams will now take two weeks off for some intensive training and preparation for the Atlantic Sun Championship on Nov. 1.
