Both Liberty Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams Place First At North Carolina Collegiate Championship
Greenville, N.C. -- Both the Liberty University men's and the women's teams finished in first place of the open divisions at the 2004 North Carolina Collegiate Cross Country Championships, host by East Carolina, while Liberty's Josh McDougal continued his unprecedented run with his fifth-straight individual title, Saturday morning, in Greenville, N.C.The men's team edged out fellow Big South competitor Coastal Carolina as Liberty finished with 29 points in the open division to the Chanticleers' 39 points, while Norfolk State placed third with 66 points.
McDougal (Fr., Peru, N.Y.) posted a course and school record time of 23:40.19 in the 8K race, finishing ahead of last year's Big South Runner of the Year as Coastal Carolina's Teyah Kipchiris finished second with a time of 24:03.15.
Also placing for the Flames were Evan Falat (Jr., Stockton, Calif.), who finished ninth with a time of 25:14.54, Jason Brown (Sr., Loves, Park, Ill.), who finished 31st with a time of 26:14.97, Drew Ponder (Fr., Colonial Heights, Va.), who finished 44th with a time of 26:29.13, Christian Nichols (So., Hillard, Ohio), who finished 47th with a time of 26:38.30, Chris Lyons (So., Virginia Beach, Va.), who finished 49th with a time of 26:49.70, Tim Beasley (Fr., Warsaw, Va.), who finished 70th with a time of 27:25.90, and Nate Edwards (Fr., Warren, Minn.), who finished 74th with a time of 27:33.39.
The women's team also placed first out of four teams in the open division of the championship as Liberty won the division with 15 points, finishing 59 points ahead of its nearest competitor as Francis Marion finished in second with 59 points.
The Lady Flames were paced by a pair of freshmen as Danielle Jordan (Fr., Medforf, Ohio) placed 12th overall with a time of 18:07.25, while fellow rookie Sarah Roberts (Fr., Zeiglerville, Pa.) followed in 13th with a time of 18:12.66 in the 5K race.
Also finishing for the Lady Flames were Samantha Pellettier (Sr., Wells, Maine), who finished 15th with a time of 18:14.56, Melissa Blackstone (Sr., Presque Isle, Maine), who finished 19th with a time of 18:52.82, Asia Ramey (Fr., Marengo, Ohio), who finished 27th with a time of 19:01.44, Carol Jefferson (Fr., Schwenksville, Pa.), who finished 30th with a time of 19:08.38, Chelsey Swanson (So., Littleton, Colo.), who finished 36th with a time of 19:30.83, Sally McEnany (So., St. Albans, Vt.), who finished 41st with a time of 19:43.56, Meleia Johnson (Fr., Pine City, Minn.), who finished 51st with a time of 20:14.04, Rebekah Wahlquist (Fr., Richmond, Va.), who finished 57th with a time of 20:26.82, and Maria Spencer (So., Shoreview, Minn.), who finished 70th with a time of 20:46.32. Former Liberty standout and current Lady Flames' assistant coach Heather Zealand finished second overall with a time of 16:57.88.
The race marked a final tune-up for Liberty as the men's and women's teams will return to the course on October 30 to compete in the Big South Cross Country Championships in Rock Hill, S.C., starting at 10 a.m.