CVAC CHAMPS! Knights XC wins conference title

October 21, 2005

Men's Results
Women's Results

ANDERSON, SC—The St. Andrews men’s cross country program won its first ever CVAC Cross Country title at the 2005 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Championships at the Pine Lake Golf Club on Friday morning. The Knights women’s team finished eighth.

After finishing second place by a slim five points in 2004, the SAPC men’s cross country team was on a mission to win their first conference title this year. The Knights followed through by successfully winning the 8,000-meter race with 32 points.

St. Andrews dominated the very difficult and hilly course, placing all five of its scoring runners in the top-15 of the 83-runner field.

The men’s XC team brings St. Andrews its first CVAC title in any sport since 2000 (baseball and men’s basketball).

Fourth year head coach Gary Aycock was named the CVAC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year at the Awards Banquet.

“Today was the proudest day in my coaching career,” said Aycock. “The men’s and women’s hard work, dedication, and commitments are finally paying off and these student-athletes deserve all the recognitions they get.”

You would have to more than double the Knights score to get to the runner-ups, Lees-McRae, on the results with 68 points. Pfeiffer rounded out the top-three with 94 markers.

Chris Miller (Cedar Park, TX) and Mitch Cooper (Virginia Beach, VA) led the Knights finishing second and third, respectively, with times of 27:10 and 27:43. Miller and Cooper were later named First Team All-CVAC.

Cooper was the top freshman runner on Friday and was later named CVAC Freshman of the Year at the Awards Banquet. It’s the second straight year St. Andrews has won the aforementioned award (Miller in ’04). Cooper has finished in the top-10 in all five of his freshman races this season.

Perry Morris (Austin, TX) and Tim Bourke (Alden, NY) posted top-10 results, earning Second Team All-CVAC status. Morris finished eighth with a mark of 28:10 and Bourke surged at the end for ninth place and a time of 28:22.

Adam Vick (Salisbury, NC) sprinted to the end, passing runners in the final straightaway to cross the finish line in 15th and earn All-CVAC Honorable Mention accolades with a time of 28:49.

Travis Cansler’s (Austin, TX) time of 29:54 was good for 30th. The Knights only senior, Devin Gillis (Willington, NC), galloped in at 34:22 and Patrick Hogan (Denton, NC) completed the race in 34:25.

Senior Kelly Chaplin (Montpelier, VT) led the Knights women’s team to an eighth place finish out of 12 teams. The Knights only raced five runners and just missed seventh by one point.

Chaplin was second in the 5,000-meter race, posting a time of 19:35 on the tough course that weaved up and down the Rocky River Golf Club. Chaplin earned All-CVAC First Team honors at the banquet. Chaplin has finished in the top-10 of all five of her races this year.

Leah Nicholson (Hendersonville, NC) just missed making the All-Conference list with a time of 21:09 (18th place). Sara Pauciello (Sayreville, NJ) clocked in at 25:22; Valerie Hamilton (Concord, NC) galloped in at 26:29; and Jordan Copp (Overland Park, KS) finished the Knights scoring at 29:11.

“The program has improved by leaps and bounds in the past three years. However, as each season ends the bar is raised and new goals are set. I would also like to thank my assistants, Jim Walters and Charles Rivers, for their hard work,” concluded Aycock.

Anderson’s Jennifer Hitt defended her individual title and set a course record and the Lady Trojans had three of the top four runners to earn their second CVAC title in the last four years.

Anderson finished with 51 points, 11 points ahead of Queens University of Charlotte. Barton edged Converse, participating in its first-ever CVAC championship event, for third place by one point – 80 to 81, and defending champion Lees-McRae was fifth with 124 points.