Contact: Robin Jentes (rajentes@c-usa.org)

2002 CONFERENCE USA CROSS COUNTRY
(October 8, 2002)

C-USA ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Women – Christa Benton, South Florida

Benton claimed her second consecutive first-place finish of the season by winning the Gator Invitational last weekend. She turned in a time of 20:55.8, while helping the Bulls to their second Gator Invitational/Florida Intercollegiate team title.

Men – Vince Sherry, Charlotte

Sherry captured individual medallist honors at the Clemson Invitational last weekend. His time of 24:58 was the fastest by a 49er this season and ranks 18th in the school’s record book.

PAST ATHLETES OF THE WEEK:
Women Men
S10 Susan Barth, Jessie Swan, Marquette S10 Andrew Smith, South Florida S17 Susan Barth, Marquette S17 Jackson Langat, TCU
S24 Alayne Thompson, TCU S24 Kyle MacKenzie, ECU
O1 Kay Livick, ECU O1 Kristian Jorgensen, ECU
O8 Christa Benton, South Florida O8 Vince Sherry, Charlotte

Conference USA Cross Country Rankings are compiled and updated each week by Flash Results and Data. For the most recent times and rankings, go to www.flashresults.com/flashtexas

NOTING CONFERENCE USA CROSS COUNTRY
Women
Charlotte finished second out of seven teams at the Clemson Invitational. CASSIE FICKEN led the 49ers with a second-place finish and time of 22:50. LAURA SYRACUSE and JEN TAYLOR both finished in the top 10, placing sixth and seventh, respectively. The Niners take next week off before returning to action at the Pre-NCAA Meet in Terre Haute, Ind … Cincinnati finished seventh out of 16 teams at the Notre Dame Invitational last weekend. RUTH LIMO posted her fourth top-10 finish with a fifth-place showing (18:38). JENNIFER LIMLE followed in 29th place (19:20), while MISSY TITUS finished 32nd with a time of 19:27 … DePaul’s ERIN MOFFETT continued her strong season with a third-place finish at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational last weekend. Moffett ran the 5,000-meter course in 17:44 for sixth place, marking her second straight top 10 finish of the season. LEAH RYGH (18:13) and MARLENE KEY (18:37) followed in ninth and 14th place, respectively … Houston finished seventh at the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jaboree last weekend. Sophomore KELLY MCCARTY placed sixth with a time of 18:12. JESSICA OAKES followed in 45th place with a time of 19:14, while JULIE PEREZ notched a 47th-place showing (19:21). Houston travels to College Station, Texas on Oct. 12 to compete in the Texas A&M Invitational, before hosting the Houston Invitational on Oct. 23 … Five Cardinals finished within 23 seconds of each other and placed in the top 35 to lead Louisville to a sixth-place finish at the Cardinal Cross Country Classic Saturday. Junior EMILY DAUNHAUER led U of L with a 28th-place finish in 19:01.3. Sophomore CORRYN MCCRAE placed 29th with a time of 19:09.2, followed by freshman EMILY LEEPER (33rd), junior BETH WENDT (34th) and sophomore HEATHER GRIFFITH (35th). The Cardinals return to action on Oct. 19 when they travel to Evansville, Ind., for the Evansville Invitational …23rd-ranked Marquette took home first-place honors out of seven teams at the Murray Keatinge Invitational held in Orono, Maine. Seniors’ JESSIE SWAN and SUSAN BARTH paced the MU women's effort finishing second and third, respectively, in the 71-runner field. Swan posted a time of 17:23.71 over the 5k course while Barth turned in a time of 17:31.54. Senior JACKIE SWAN came in sixth with a time of 17:49.87 while freshmen JODI JAKUBEK (18:05.04) and ALLISON SAUER (18:18.93) crossed the line in eight and ninth place, respectively … Memphis finished eighth at the Rhode College Cross Country Invitational. WENDY RAGLE led the Tigers with a 17th place finish, shaving 38 seconds off her previous 5k time to finish in 20:10. Ragle has three top 20 finishes this season, including two top-5 showings … Southern Miss captured first-place honors at the Mississippi College Invitational last week. The Golden Eagles placed five of their top seven runners in the top 10. JESSICA CRUMP claimed individual honors with a time of 19:57.38. KERI WHITE finished third with a time of 20:23.42, followed by ALISHA EDWARDS, who placed fifth (20:43.77) and LYDIAH CHEPKWONY, who claimed sixth-place honors (21:16.31) … South Florida won the Gator Invitational/Florida Intercollegiate on Oct. 5. CHRISTA BENTON took her second consecutive first-place finish with a time of 20:55.8. JESSICA HELLENDER and KRISTY FULLER followed in third and fourth place, respectively … TCU finished eighth at the Oklahoma State Jamboree Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 5. Freshman ALAYNE THOMPSON finished fourth out of 17 competitors, marking her third top 5 finish in as many events this season. She posted a time of 18:10 in the 5,000-meter course. KATRINA ZIELINSKI placed 33rd with a time of 18:58, while HEATHER ISBELL ran the course in a time of 19:16, placing 46th … UAB placed seventh in the team standings at the Rhodes College Invitational. The Blazers were once again led by junior AMANDA KARA, who finished in second place with a personal-best time of 18:59. Rounding out the Blazers' individual standings were HEATHER BURDETT (26th), RINA KARA (43rd), and DONNA PUCKE (54th). Newcomer KRISTEN LUNN made her first cross country appearance ever placing 77th. The Blazers will take next week off in preparation for the Auburn Invitational in Auburn, Ala., on Oct. 19.


Men
Charlotte finished second out of eight teams at the Clemson Invitational. VINCE SHERRY captured the individual title after covering the 8K event in 24:58. His time is the fastest for the 49ers this year and ranks 18th in the school's record book ... Cincinnati posted an 11th-place finish at the Notre Dame Invitational last weekend. CHRIS REIS led the Bearcats, posting a time of 25:41 for 49th place. MIKE SMITH followed in 64th place with a time of 25:53 … DePaul placed sixth out of nine teams at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational on Oct. 5. LUIS SAMAYOA finished 11th (25:35), while GAVAN KENNEDY posted a time of 25:39 for 15th place … Houston notched a 12th-place showing with a score of 336 points at the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamoree in Stillwater, Okla. Senior MIKE OLAGUE led the Cougars with a 22nd-place finish (25:09). Freshman SESAR FIGUEROA followed in 69th place with a time of 26:21. Houston will next compete at the Texas A&M Invitational on Oct. 12 … Louisville placed four runners in the top 60 to finish seventh overall at the Cardinal Cross Country Classic Saturday. Freshman TIM KAISER led the Cardinals for the second straight weekend by finishing 24th with a time of 25:57.4. Senior MIKE HORAN came in 33rd with a time of 26:12.0, followed by senior TIM FRANXMAN (40th) and sophomore BRIAN HURST (58th). The Cardinals return to action Oct. 19 when they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet … Marquette finished second at the Murray Keatinge Invitational held in Orono, Maine. Freshman BRENT DES ROCHES finished seventh out of 84 runners with a time of 25:51.23 over the five-mile course. Sophomore JASON CRICHTON’s effort of 25:57.26 enabled him to claim ninth place. JAKE REMITZ and DAVID HENDERSON followed in 11th and 12th place, respectively … South Florida’s ANDREW SMITH finished second at the Gator Invitational/Florida Intercollegiate last weekend, to lead the Bulls to a sixth-place showing. Smith posted a personal-best time of 24:39.04. SEAN BURRIS placed 24th with a time of 26:00.89, while ADAM CHUMBLEY followed in 28th place (26:06.78) … TCU finished 18th at the Oklahoma State Jamboree Cross Country Invitational. JACKSON LANGAT led the Frogs with a 30th-place finish as he ran the 8,000 meter course in a time of 27:37.

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