Bourke paces Knights runners to second at Hagan Stone

September 30, 2006

Men's Results

GREENSBORO, N.C.—Senior Tim Bourke (Alden, N.Y.) won the NCAA Division II portion of the Men’s University 8,000-meter race at the 23rd Annual Greensboro Cross Country Invitational at the Hagan Stone Park on Saturday to lead St. Andrews Presbyterian College to a second place finish out of 20 D-II teams.

The Knights had four runners finish in the top-12 out of 159 total runners and top-6 out of all Division II entrants. However, a wrong turn by the SAPC top four speedsters cost the team the victory.

After the first mile, a cluster of l0-15 runners in the lead pack (that included the Knights top four) all went about 200-meters in the wrong direction after a portion of the course was not clearly marked. The quartet of Knights sprinted back to the new leaders after the approximate quarter-mile detour and still placed impressive finishes.

The Knights just missed the victory finishing second with 63 points, only seven points being Concord University. St. Andrews, who has been ranked No. 2 in the Southeast Region for the whole season so far, was the top regional finisher.

All eight Knights runners wore green bands during the race with the initials AV in support of a full recovery for junior teammate Adam Vick. The team co-captain from Salisbury, N.C., was struck by a car during practice last week and is currently being treated in his hometown.

Bourke posted a season-best time of 27:10 for an 8k distance to finish first out of 74 D-II runners. Bourke also finished third out of all 159 NCAA runners.

St. Andrews had the top-three Division II runners as sophomore Mitch Cooper (Virginia Beach, Va.) finished in second place behind Bourke with a time of 27:16. Freshman Pedro Tapia, Jr. (Sanford, N.C.) followed in third at 27:29.

In only three races this season the Knights have had three different top finishers in Bourke, Cooper, and Tapia.

Freshman Ryan Janes (Gaithersburg, Md.) put the Knights top-four all within 36 seconds of each other with a sixth place finish and a time of 27:46. Sophomore Perry Morris (Austin, Texas) rounded out the St. Andrews team scoring with a 23rd place result by crossing the finish line in 28:57.

Freshman James Lloyd (Lusby, Md.) and junior Patrick Hogan (Denton, N.C.) posted 8k PR’s of 30:37 and 32:28, respectively. Freshman Brad McKee (Kings Mountain, N.C.) concluded SAPC running at 34:06.

The Knights harriers will make the long trek to Orlando, Fla., for the Walt Disney Cross Country Classic on Saturday, October 7. The men’s race begins at 7:45 a.m.