2003 CONFERENCE USA CROSS COUNTRY (October 20, 2003)
C-USA ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Women – Bessie Hatch, Tulane
Hatch won her third individual title of the season after a first-place performance at the Sam Houston Invitational on Friday. The freshman led the Green Wave to a team victory, recording a time of 17:45 on the three-mile course.
Men – Andy Wietmarschen, Cincinnati
Wietmarschen earned C-USA Athlete of the Week for leading the Bearcats at the Illini Invitational on Saturday. The junior covered the 8K course in 25:07, for a second-place finish, and set a new Cincinnati season-best record, clocking in 19 seconds faster than the previous top score.
Previous Athletes of the Week: Women S8: Christa Benton, USF S15: Bessie Hatch, Tulane S22: Mary Kinyanjui, TCU S29: Bessie Hatch, Tulane O6: Jodi Jakubek, Marquette O13: Cassie Ficken, Charlotte Men S8: Phillip Aagaard, Tulane S15: Wes Seacat, Louisville S22: Eric Bair, Cincinnati S29: Phillip Aagaard, Tulane O6: Kyle MacKenzie, East Carolina O13: Adam Didyk, Memphis
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 won its second meet in a row, finishing first out of 10 teams at the North Carolina Intercollegiate Championships on Saturday. The 49ers, who are ranked 10th in this week's Southeast Region, beat a pair of regionally-ranked schools including North Carolina and Wake Forest. CASSIE FICKEN led the 49ers with a fifth-place finish. She completed the course with a time of 17:30.52. TSEHAYE DAGNACHEW was next across the line for Charlotte in ninth place (17:40.94). In 28th place, ANDRIA CRAIG finished third for the team (18:08.87). LIZ SMITH was 32nd (18:17.29) while AMELIA SLAGLE finished three spots back in 35th (18:22.76) … Cincinnati placed sixth at the Illini Challenge on Saturday. RUTH LIMO finished fifth to lead the Bearcats. She turned in a top performance for the season, improving her previous top time by 44 seconds, covering the 5K course in 17:59. Other Bearcats turned in season bests including JENNIFER LIMLE who placed 23rd (18:53), and CRISTY DOLL who finished third for Cincinnati in 26th place (18:57). Cincinnati returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 1 at the Conference USA meet in Tampa, Fla. … DePaul, led by MARLENE KEY, placed eighth at the Illini Challenge on Saturday. Key placed 20th out of 86 competitors and covered the 5K course in 18:46. She was followed by CARRIE MOFFETT, SHELLEY KNIGHT and OLIVIA CONLON. Moffett took 34th (10:09), Knight placed 45th (19:21) and Conlon finished 64th (19:56). Up next for the cross country teams is the Conference USA Championships on November 1 in Tampa, Fla. ... East Carolina's CAITLIN LITTLEFIELD paced the Pirates at the North Carolina Intercollegiate Championships on Saturday. She covered the 5K course in 17:35.79 to place seventh overall and to lead her team to a fourth-place finish. JESSICA COLLINS placed 16th, while JOHANNNA ALLEN finished in 19th. The Pirates will take next weekend off before they return to action at the conference championships in Tampa, Fla. ... Houston finished fifth at the Sam Houston State Invitational on Saturday with 137 points. Houston's top runner was TERIE LITTLEPAGE, who finished in 10th place after covering the three-mile course in 18:50. SHAWNA FLORIDA finished in 20th place for the Cougars (19:16), and JANAY COVINGTON placed 26th (19:26). VERONICA RAMIREZ finished in 34th (19:38), while CYNTHIA SILVA and RACHEL FREEMAN finished in 47th and 48th place, respectively, with both runners recording a time of 20:42 …Louisville finished second overall at the Evansville Invitational Saturday in Evansville, Ind. AMANDA BELL led the Cardinals with her second consecutive runner-up finish. Bell ran a season-best time of 18:05.79 to record her sixth top-10 finish in as many events this season. EMILY DAUNHAUER placed 13th with a time of 19:18.15, while freshman HOLLY GEERS was 14th (19:22.38). The other two Cardinal scorers were senior BETH WENDT (18th) and junior CORRYN MCCRAE (29th). The Cardinals will take a week off before traveling to Tampa, Fla., for the Conference USA Championships on Nov. 1 ... Marquette, ranked 26th in the nation, placed eighth at Pre-NCAA Invitational in Waterloo, Iowa. JODI JAKUBEK led the way for the Golden Eagles, taking 13th place overall (20:45). HEIDI LINDEMAN covered the 5K course in 21:38 en route to taking 55th place. BRIANNA DAHM was close behind Lindeman finishing 58th (21:41). Among the nationally ranked teams Marquette defeated were Florida State (No. 27), West Virginia (No. 28) and Villanova (No. 13) … Saint Louis finished fifth at the Evansville Invitational on Saturday in Evansville, Ind. BETH SHERMAN blazed the 5K course in 19:05.35, good for 10th place overall. Her time was the sixth-best for an individual performer in Saint Louis history. JANELLE DECKER led three other runners under 20 minutes (19:43.92), placing 22nd. SARA MOBERG was third on the team (19:52.50), and EMILY ZIMMERMAN was right behind her (19:56.98). ANNE LAMPE finished fourth for the Billikens (20:08.91), while JAMIE BRANHAM completed SLU’s top-five (20:16.08) … USF finished eighth at the Penn State University National Meet on Saturday held at the Penn State Blue/White Golf Course. The Bulls put two runners in the top 15 and three in the top 50 of the 225 runner field. CHRISTA BENTON paced USF, covering the 6K course in 21:59.91. BENTE GENERAL took 13th (21:17.80) while JESSICA HELLENDER rounded out the Bulls three top-50 runners finishing 41st (21:59.91). Other USF finishers included Sara Hall (23:42.61), KRISTEN POULOS (23:47.99), MAGGIE POTTER (25:19.23), and MINOO MOSTAFAVIFAR (26:49.25) … TCU placed seventh at the Arkansas Chili Pepper Invitational on Saturday. MARY KINYANJUI led the Horned frogs and captured the individual runner-up honor. Kinyanjui covered the 6K course in 20:56.50. It marked the third straight meet in which she recorded a top-five individual finish. KATRINA ZIELINSKI was TCU's second runner, crossing the finish line in 22:08.27 to place 42nd overall, just two spots ahead of CALANDRA STEWART (22:11.57). The Frogs will not compete again until the Conference USA Cross Country Championships, which will be held in Tampa, Fla. on Saturday, November 1 … Tulane won the Sam Houston State Invitational on Friday with the help of BESSIE HATCH who claimed the individual victory. Hatch posted a time of 17:45 on the three-mile course, defeating 87 other runners in the nine-team event. Following her was LISA GREEN who posted a time of 18:12 on the course. EVA LUSTIGOVA placed seventh overall for the Wave (18:17). Birka Wicke took 13th place, while freshman EVA GORDON finished 31st to round out the scorers for the Green Wave … UAB placed 16th out of a 37-team field at the Arkansas Chili Pepper Invitational on Saturday. AMANDA KARA was the top finisher for the Blazers as she ran a personal best (22:23.86) and placed 52nd out of 285 runners. EMRY MCKAY took 65th for UAB (22:38.64). The Blazers compete next in the Conference USA Championships on Nov. 1 in Tampa, Fla.
Men Charlotte finished sixth out of a field of 12 teams at the North Carolina Intercollegiate Championships on Saturday. RUSSELL SLADE finished 30th (24:38.54) to lead the team. JAMIL MUHAIMIN was second for the 49ers finishing 38th (24:47.00). ANDREW MANNING, who led the team in each of the past two races, placed 50th (25:01.10). MARK WEEMS placed fourth for Charlotte and 68th overall (25:22.87). KEN SIMEONE rounded out the 49ers finishing 86th (25:38.30) … Cincinnati's ANDY WIETMARSCHEN placed second at the Illini Challenge on Saturday. Wietmarschen improved UC’s season-best time by 19 seconds on his way to a second-place finish (25:07). ERIC STENDER and TAYLOR GARVIN finished in fourth place (25:16) and fifth place (25:19), respectively. The entire top-five pack of Cincinnati runners finished within 49 seconds and 14 positions of each other. No team scores were kept for the race. Cincinnati returns to action Saturday, Nov. 1 at the Conference USA Championships in Tampa, Florida … DePaul competed at the Illini Challenge on Saturday and were led by GAVIN KENNEDY who placed 13th. There were no team scores for the race. Kennedy covered the 8K course in 25:44.63. KIM TRIEU and RICHARD BYRNE earned top-20 finishes followed by BEN COOKE and RICK BRITTON. Trieu was 19th (26:05.90) and Byrne finished in 20th (26:08.80). Cooke and Britton finished 28th and 29th, respectively, with times of 26:21.67 and 26:26.24. Up next for the Blue Demons is the Conference USA Championships on Nov. 1 … East Carolina junior KYLE MACKENZIE finished second with a time of 23:53.18 at the North Carolina Intercollegiate Cross Country Championships at Overton's Lake Kristi on Saturday. MacKenize's finish helped the Pirates to a fifth place finish. MATT HANLON also recorded a top-20 finish, placing 11th (24:26.79). ECU's next meet will be Saturday, Nov. 1 at the Conference USA Championships in Tampa, Fla ... Louisville placed three runners in the top nine to finish second overall at the Evansville Invitational on Saturday in Evansville, Ind. Aaron Harding of Indiana State pulled away from the Cardinals' WES SEACAT in the final 100 meters to win the 8K race with a time of 25:47.35. Seacat finished the race in 25:49.00, narrowly missing his second win of the season. CURTIS PERSINGER placed sixth (26:28.81), while CHRIS DAVIS finished ninth (26:34.79). Rounding out the U of L scorers were KYLE BOWLING (13th) and TIM KAISER (18th). The Cardinals will take a week off before traveling to Tampa, Fla., for the C-USA Championships on November 1 … Marquette placed 31st at the Pre-NCAA Invitational in Waterloo, Iowa on Saturday. BRENT DES ROCHES was the top finisher for the Golden Eagles, taking 121st place and covering the 8K course in 25:06. Coming in second for Marquette was DAVID HENDERSON who placed 145th (25:06). Rounding out the top five for the Golden Eagles were JEREMY WILLIAMS (25:39), BO ERICKSON (25:42) and TOMMY SCHMITZ (26:08) … Saint Louis finished fifth at the Evansville Invitational on Saturday in Evansville, Ind. JOE PORTER just missed out on a top-10 finish after covering the 8K course in 26:53.12 to finish 12th. BRANDON MIDDLETON placed 20th overall (27:27.78) and PAUL LEMON was right behind in 21st (27:35.67). JIMMY HOLMES was fourth for the Billikens (28:31.85) while DAN HERMAN was SLU's fifth-place runner (28:50.95) … USF finished 12th out of 20 teams at the Penn State University National Meet held at the Penn State Blue/White Golf Course. SEAN BURRIS led USF with a 21st-place finish (26:35.86) and ADAM CHUMBLEY took 42nd (27:15.19). Other USF runners taking part were DEREK LINCOLN, who finished 63rd (27:47.46), and CHRIS COX, who placed 103rd (28:33.64). ANDREW CHARLES rounded out the Bulls’ runners, placing 153rd (30:25.63) … TCU finished 26th among the 33 teams competing at the prestigious Arkansas Chili Pepper Invitational on Saturday. JACKSON LANGAT led the Horned Frogs with a 47th-place finish. He covered the 10K course in 31:19.33. ALEX MORRIS was the second TCU finisher, breaking the finish line in 32:58.25. The Frogs will not compete again until the Conference USA Championships in Tampa, Fla. on Saturday, November 1 … Tulane was paced by senior RYAN GALLAGHER who finished 16th at the Sam Houston Invitational on Friday, to help the Green Wave to a fourth-place finish. Gallagher covered the five-mile course in 28:15. PHILIP AAGAARD was the second finisher for the Wave, placing 21st (28:22), followed closely by senior PHILLIP ROMERO in 23rd (28:23). KEVIN MARTES and WILL LANDRY finished 32nd and 35th, respectively to close out the Green Wave scorers.
