October 31, 2003

ANDERSON, SC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College men’s cross country team finished fifth out of 10 teams in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference tournament hosted by Anderson on Friday morning. Lees-McRae won the conference title with 34 points.

The Knights were hoping for an excellent race having been ranked as high as ninth in the Southeast region of Division II this year. However, the Knights (112 points) fell right behind the four teams that were ranked ahead of them including No. 3 ranked Lees-McRae (34 points), No. 2 Pfeiffer (54), No. 9 Queens (105), and No. 10 Coker (106).

Tim Bourke finished the 8K route on the Pine Lake Golf Course in 28:19 to pace the Knights runners with an eighth place finish. Finishing in 17th thru 19th place were Matt Bourke (29:15), Steven Araiza (29:23), and Charles Rivers (29:27). The Knights final four runners were Devin Gillis (33:15), Rex Mitchell (34:29), David Foresi (34:37), and Manuel Pimental (37:15).

Chris Hiatt of Pfeiffer University won the race with a 27:13 mark.

St. Andrews will compete in the NCAA Regional on Saturday, November 8th in Cary, NC.

October 18, 2003

HARTSVILLE, SC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College women and men’s cross-country teams took home both first place trophies from the Coker Invitational on Saturday.

The St. Andrews men, who are ranked 10th in the Southeast Region of Division-II, won its first race of the year. The Knights finished ahead of ninth ranked Coker (second) and Newberry (third).

Freshman Tim Bourke paced the Knights with a 16:37 time, finishing second to Eric Cannon of Newberry in the 5000-meter race. Bourke’s time was only eight seconds behind Cannons. Junior Charles Rivers followed Bourke in third place with a 16:44 time.

Freshman Steve Araizi (5th; 16:57) and sophomore Matt Bourke (8th; 17:29) finished in the top ten of the 22-entrant field. The other Knights runners were Devon Gillis (18:51), David Parsons-Foresi (18:54), Rex Mitchell (20:01), and Manuel Pimental (21:25).

The Knights do not compete again until the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Tournament on October 31st. Anderson College will host the tourney.

September 20, 2003

WINGATE, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College men’s cross-country team finished ninth out of 14 teams at the Wingate University Cross Country Invitational on Saturday.

Tim Bourke lead the Knights with a 19th place finish out of 107 runners in the men’s 8K race with a time of 28:28. Steve Araiza (35th) and Charles Rivers (36th) finished back-to-back for St. Andrews with times of 29:12 and 29:14. The Knights other runners were David Parsons-Foresi (33:44), Matt Bourke (33:58), Manuel Pimental (37:17), and Devon Gillis (39:22).

Mars Hill swept the day winning both the women and men’s race. The Mountain Lions men’s team had two runners in the top ten including the race winner Craig Eckstein (26:55).

The Knights will compete next at the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, NC on Friday with the men starting at 2:40 p.m.

September 13, 2003

PEMBROKE, NC—After finding out that their team was ranked ninth in the Southeast Region of NCAA Division-II, the St. Andrews Presbyterian College men’s cross country team proved they deserved being ranked that high with a third place finish in the UNC Pembroke Invitational on Saturday morning.

Wingate (ranked sixth in the region) won the race with 38 points followed by Queens (ranked eighth in the region) with 67. St. Andrews did not falter to any team ranked below them as they finished with 84 points.

Wingate’s Michael Jaquins won the 52-runner race with a 26:53 time. The Knights freshman Tim Bourke finished 1:03 behind Jaquins in fourth place. St. Andrews had three other top 20 finishers in Charles Rivers (28:31 for 11th), Stephen Araiza (29:03 for 17th), and Matt Bourke (29:36 for 19th). The Knights other runners were David Parsons-Foresi (32:57), Rex Mitchell (34:01), Manuel Pimental (36:50), and Devon Gillis (41:45).

The Knights are 11-6 against D-II runners and 4-1 against Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference foes.

St. Andrews will travel to Wingate next Saturday for the Wingate Invitational with the men starting at 9:45 a.m.

September 6, 2003

Greensboro, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College men’s cross country team finished fifth out of 12 division II and III schools in the Elon/High Point Invitational on Saturday. East Carolina University won the overall race title while Lynchburg College won the non-Division I part.

The Knights showed a vast improvement in their season opener improving from a 10th place finish in the same race a year ago. St. Andrews finished ahead of all other Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference foes in the field.

Junior Charles Rivers paced the Knights with a 28:36 finish for 17th place out of 124 total runners. Freshman Tim Bourke followed in 18th place, three seconds behind Rivers. Matt Bourke (29:33) and Stephen Araiza (29:34) finished strong at 40th and 41st overall, respectively. David Forese finished 85th with a time of 32:54 while Manuel Pimental finished the running for St. Andrews with a time of 37:46.

All four upperclassmen (Rivers, M. Bourke, Forese, and Pimental) had faster times than in any 2002 race.

St. Andrews will try to keep the momentum going in the UNC Pembroke Invitational in Lumberton, NC at 9:30 am Saturday.