Knights' Trovato qualifies for National Championships
SAPC finishes eighth at Southeast Regional

November 3, 2007

Women's 6k results

WINGATE, N.C.—Junior Alyson Trovato (Cedar Park, Texas) becomes the first Lady Knight to ever qualify for the NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championship with an impressive fourth place finish at the Southeast Regional at Wingate University on Saturday Morning.

Trovato led the Lady Knights to a eighth place finish out of 16 teams with her best ever finish in a 6,000-meter race. Trovato finished the 6k Wingate Cross Country Course in 23 minutes and 56 seconds to finish fourth overall out of 115 entrants. It was the first time Trovato has broken the 24-minute barrier in a 6k race, breaking her own personal record (PR) time by 26 seconds. Trovato best-ever finish in the regional also earned her second straight All-Region honors.

“I was really impressed with Aly’s performance today. She has been working for this day since June and I am just honored to stand beside her in celebration,” said sixth year head coach Gary Aycock. “What a model student-athlete; she commits to everything she does both on the course and in the classroom.”

Trovato will compete in the National Championship at the Missouri Southern Cross Country Course in Joplin, Missouri on Saturday, November 17 at 10:30 a.m. The top-five individual finishers all earn bids to the National Championship and Trovato earned her bid with her fourth place finish.

The Knights, who are currently unranked in the Southeast Region, finished ahead of No. 3 regionally ranked Anderson University and No. 6 rated Pfeiffer University.

Knights’ senior Veronica Gobeyn (Mullins, S.C.) concluded her collegiate career with a solid 30th place result with a time of 25:32.

The freshmen duo of Marie Hibbard (Statesville, N.C.) and Desiree Cavazos (Fayetteville, N.C.) both register PR’s in their second ever collegiate 6k race. Hibbard finished in 44th place with a speed of 26:19 and Cavazos followed in 61st by stopping the clock in 27:13.

Sophomore Bonnie MacDonald (Carthage, N.C.) was the fifth scoring runner for the Lady Knights harriers with a time of 29:36. Freshman Danielle Martin (Newport, N.C.) tied her PR of 31:05 while sophomore Lauren Crabb (Kalamazoo, Mich.) concluded the SAPC running at 32:35.

SAPC Individual Results
4. Alyson Trovato (23:56)
30. Veronica Gobeyn (25:32)
44. Marie Hibbard (26:19)
61. Desiree Cavazos (27:13)
92. Bonnie MacDonald (29:36)
98. Danielle Martin (31:05)
106. Lauren Crabb (32:35)