Welcome to St. Andrews Presbyterian College

November 5 , 2005

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WINGATE, NC—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College men’s cross country team earned a spot in the 2005 NCAA Cross Country National Championships in Pomona, California, by placing second in Saturday’s Southeast Regional at Wingate University (pictures below).

“I am almost speechless,” expressed Head Coach Gary Aycock after the awards ceremony.

The 2005 CVAC Coach of the Year continued with, “It is unbelievable how far this team has come so quickly. It shows how far our programs are going and that we have a core group of student-athletes that can compete on the national level.”

The Knights finished the 10,000-meter course around the Wingate University Athletic Complex with 82 points, which was good for second place out of 16 teams. The five scoring runners for SAPC all finished within an impressive 2:20 of each other along the lengthy distance.

Mars Hill won the team title with 48 points. Both the Knights and the Mountain Lions qualify for the National Championship hosted by California State Polytechnic University, Pomona on November 19.

Lenoir-Rhyne finished third with 116 points and host Wingate rounded out the top quarter of the field with 133 markers.

Sophomore Chris Miller (Cedar Park, TX) led the Knights charge with a third place finish in the 108-entrant field with a time of 33:35. Mitch Cooper (Virginia Beach, VA), 2005 CVAC Freshman of the Year, finished seventh posting a mark of 33:58. Junior Tim Bourke’s (Alden, NY) time of 34:57 was good for 16th place.

The top-16 runners, including Miller, Cooper and Bourke, were named to the All-Southeast Region Team.

Sophomore Darius Shade (Livingstone) won the individual title with a blazing time of 32:14. Shade and senior Ryan Althaus (Carson-Newman), who finished sixth with a time of 33:44, both qualified for nationals as individuals.

Freshman Perry Morris (Austin, TX) and sophomore Adam Vick (Salisbury, NC) completed the Knights scoring five with 27th and 30th place finishes, respectively. Morris crossed the finish line in 35:36 and Vick clocked in at 35:55.

Other Knights runners included freshman Travis Cansler (Austin, TX) at 37:43 and senior Devin Gillis (Wilmington, NC) at 43:21.

“Our guys ran a gutsy race to qualify for nationals. I am so proud of the team and we look forward to our first trip to nationals. I would also like to thank my coaching staff.” concluded Aycock.

The St. Andrews women’s XC team finished 15th out of 19 teams in only its third appearance in the Southeast Regional with 393 points.

Kate Prichard (23:31) and Rachel Retallick (23:35) helped Mars Hill sweep the team titles by finishing in second and third, respectively. MHC won the women’s 6,000-meter race with 68 points. Carson-Newman finished second with 88 points, earning a trip to the National Championships with the Lady Lions. Host Wingate University fell five points behind the Eagles in third with 93 points.

Freshman Irene Jeptolo (Winston-Salem State University) won the individual title, finishing the 6k race in 23:25. Jennifer Hitt (4th; 23:49) and Diana Willard (5th; 23:55) of Anderson College earned individual spots to nationals along with Jeptolo.

Senior Kelly Chaplin (Montpelier, VT), who finished 13th with a time of 24:53, and the other top-16 individuals in the 124-runner field each made the All-Southeast Regional Team.

Freshman Leah Nicholson (Hendersonville, NC) finished 50th with a 26:41; freshman Valerie Hamilton (Concord, NC) clocked in at 31:28; sophomore Sara Pauciello (Sayreville, NJ) posted a 33:31; and sophomore Jordan Copp (Overland Park, KS) finished the Knights running at 35:39.