D-II Selections Coming Monday Announcement scheduled for 10 p.m. Monday

Nov. 8, 2008

Harding - South Regional

Atlantic: Men | Women

Central: Men | Women

Midwest: Men's Individual | Men's Team | Women's Individual | Women's Team

Northeast: Men's Team | Men's Individual | Women's Team | Women's Individual | All-Region Team

South: Men | Women

Southeast: See releases below

South Central: See releases below

West: Men | Women

Southeast Regionals Go To Lees-McRae, Queens (N.C.)

Wingate, N.C.----The Lees-McRae women’s cross team placed three runners in the top 12 to take home the title at the 2008 NCAA Regional Southeast Regional Meet Saturday morning on the Wingate campus.

Lees-McRae won the race with 85 points, defeating Augusta State who finished second with 110 points. Both teams will advance to the NCAA Championship on November 22 at Coopers Lake Campground Slippery Rock, Pa.

Lenoir-Rhyne finished third with 158 points, followed by Columbus State with 177 points and Georgia College & State University in fifth with 194 points.

Individually, Allison Kreutzer of Clayton State won the title with a time of 22:24. The top five individuals who are not on an advancing team will go on to the NCAA Championships. Kreutzer will be joined by second place finisher Aubrey Morris of Carson-Newman, third place finisher Whitney Bishoff of Anderson (S.C.), fourth place finisher Alyson Trovato of St. Andrews and fifth place finisher Jessica Neville of Queens (N.C.).

The Bobcats were led by Carla Stewart, who finished fifth with a time of 23:54. Kira Shoemaker and Gina Valenti finished 13th and 14th, respectively. Augusta State was led by Jenafer Forward, who was seventh with a time of 24:11. Savannah Sutton of Augusta State was 16th while teammate Kara Kreutzer finished 20th.

The host Bulldogs finished eighth in the event with 251 points. Senior Ashley Condrey led the way with a time of 25:27 to finish 31st. Fellow senior Ashley Hubbard was 38th with a time of 25:40.

All Region Team
1. Allison Kreutzer, Clayton State 22:24
2. Aubrey Morris, Carson-Newman 23:03
3. Whitney Bishoff, Anderson (S.C.) 23:15
4. Alyson Trovato, St. Andrews 23:29
5. Jessica Neville, Queens (N.C.) 23:35
6. Carla Swart, Lees-McRae 23:54
7. Jenafer Forward, Augusta State 24:11
8. Kandace Smith, Columbus State 24:25
9. Kate Griewish, Lenoir-Rhyne 24:29
10. Alycia Andrade, Brevard 24:30
11. Kelly May, Francis Marion 24:33
12. Olivia Jacobs, Catawba 24:39
13. Kira Shoemaker, Lees-McRae 24:39
14.Gina Valenti, Lees-McRae 24:45
15. Andrea Whitaker, Colubus State 24:47

Team Results:
1. Lees-McRae, 85 points
2. Augusta State, 110 points
3. Lenoir-Rhyne, 158 points
4. Columbus State, 177 points
5. Georgia College & State, 194 points
6. Converse, 217 points
7. North Georgia, 236 points
8. Wingate, 251 points
9. Carson-Newman, 255 points
10. Queens (N.C.), 278 points
11. Catawba, 284 points
12. St. Andrews, 308 points
13. Coker, 334 points
14. Anderson (S.C.) 336 points
15. Limestone, 340 points
16. USC Aiken, 349 points
17. Mars Hill, 371 points
18. Erskine, 413 points
19. Pfeiffer, 437 points
20. Francis Marion, 464 points
21. Newberry, 548 points
22. Belmont Abbey, 591 points

Wingate, N.C.—Royals’ junior Oscar Ogwaro led No. 7 nationally ranked Queens University of Charlotte to the team title at the 2008 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional hosted by Wingate University on Saturday morning at the Wingate Cross Country Course by winning the individual title.

Queens successfully defended its Southeast Region Championship title by placing its five scoring harriers in the top seven of the field. The Royals posted a nearly perfect score of 19 points.

Columbus State University, the 2008 Peach Belt Conference Champions, finished second with 87 points. The Royals and Cougars both qualify for the NCAA Division II Country National Championships hosted by Slippery Rock University on Saturday, November 22.

Wingate University’s Jayce Watson and St. Andrews Presbyterian College’s Mitch Cooper both qualified for the National Championships as individuals in their senior seasons by finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

Ogwaro won the 10k race with a dominating time of 30:54. The Royals swept the top three spots with sophomore Michael Crouch taking second in 31:07 and junior Futsum Mebrahtu placing third at 32:05.

Watson spoiled the Royals attempt at a perfect score by claiming fourth place honors in front of his home crowd. Watson blazed the course in 32:13 to earn his third consecutive trip to Nationals. Cooper followed in fifth place finishing the endurance race in 32:27, earning his second straight bid to Nationals. Cooper, the 2008 Conference Carolinas Runner of the Year, will become the first runner in the conference to race in the D-II Nationals in all four years of his eligibility.

Clayton State University grabbed third place team honors with 107 points while a trio of teams battled out the next three spots finishing within five points of each other. South Atlantic Conference Champions Mars Hill led the way in fourth with 140 points followed by Lees-McRae College (143) and St. Andrews (145). Host Wingate was next in seventh place with 165 points. Erskine College (198), Georgia College & State University (259), and Lenoir-Rhyne University (305) rounded out the top-10 in the 20 team field.

Queens’ junior Matthew Rowell (32:41) and senior Ryan Connelly (32:55) crossed the finish line in sixth and seventh place, respectively, to conclude the Royals impressive scoring. Columbus State junior David Marley (33:04) crossed the finish line in eighth; Tusculum College sophomore Simon Holzapfel (33:17) grabbed ninth; and Francis Marion University junior Hillary Kiprop (33:24) rounded out the top-10 in 10th place.

The top-15 individuals (out of the 140 harriers) earned All-Region honors. Three Clayton State runners earned All-Region accolades including Anthony Aquilar (33:25/11th) and sophomores Joey Chino (33:29/12th) and Walid Berkhedle (33:35/14th). Erskine junior Adam Groblewski (33:29/13th) and Columbus State’s senior Roger Hagues (33:36/15th) also earned All-Region credit.

The men’s 10k race at the NCAA Division II National Championships is scheduled to start at 12 Noon on Saturday, November 22 at the Cooper’s Lake Campground in Slippery Rock, Pa.

------

Abilene Men, Missouri Southern Women Win South Central

Abilene Christian came to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Meet on Saturday with glowing credentials. It was a race but it was not a race as the Wildcats did close to nothing to tarnish that image in winning both the individual(s) and team titles.

Ranked number one in the South Central and number two in the entire nation for Division II, Abilene Christian saw its top four runners finish in that exact order, one, two, three and four. Leading the charge was Julius Nyango in 30:10.7 followed closely by Daniel Maina at 30:11.1. Finishing third was Wildcat Cleophas Tanui in 30:20.6 while Serge Gasore was fourth at 31:06.0.

Those four ran together for most of the 10K race before Nyango and Maina broke away and raced each other at a rapid pace to the finish. As a team, ACU posted 31 points far outdistancing second place Missouri Southern which had a cumulative 105 points.

Those two teams along with third place Pittsburg State of Kansas move on to the Division II National Championships set for November 22 in Slippery Rock, Pa.

Heartland Conference individual champion David Fuentes of St. Edward’s was sixth overall and joins Tyler Tyndell (5th) of Texas A&M / Commerce as the individual national qualifiers; the top two finishers not on a qualifying team are the ones who move on.

Incarnate Word came to the regional meet as the Heartland Conference champions but the Cardinals ran into stiff competition and finished 13th as a team. UIW was led by Robert Langat whose 32:32.0 time was 20th among the 150 total runners.

The meet was hosted by Incarnate Word and was conducted at Live Oak’s City Park.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1) Abilene Christian, 31 points
2) Missouri Southern, 105
3) Pittsburg State (Kan), 149
4) Southwest Baptist (Mo), 151
5) Texas A&M / Commerce, 154
6) Tarleton State, 165
7) Ft. Hays State (Kan), 183
8) Emporia State (Kan), 209
9) Central Missouri, 241
10) East Central Oklahoma, 249
11) Truman State (Mo), 259
12) Northwest Missouri, 262
13) Incarnate Word, 341
14) Angelo State, 384
15) Cameron (Okla), 392
16) St. Edward’s, 464
17) Eastern New Mexico, 473
18) Dallas Baptist, 481
19) West Texas A&M, 505
20) Newman (Kan), 520
21) Texas A&M International, 627
22) Texas / Permian Basin, 670

They came as the favorites and they went home with a regional title Saturday as the Missouri Southern women’s cross country team captured the NCAA Division II South Central Championship.

Hosted by Incarnate Word and conducted at Live Oak’s City Park, the meet saw Missouri Southern place two runners in the top 10 and gain enough support down the line to post 88 points and a narrow margin over second place finisher Midwestern State which had 94 points.

Those two squads along with third place Pittsburg State of Kansas became eligible for the Division II National Championships set for November 22 in Slippery Rock, Pa.

Missouri Southern was led by Kimi Shank whose time of 20:53.3 was good for second position overall.

Abilene Christian had two of the top three individual runners. Winrose Karunde crossed the line first in a time of 20:45.6 to qualify for the national event as an individual. ACU teammate Loice Chebol was third in 21:21.4 and she too will move on to the national meet.

As a team the host Cardinals finished in 17th place led by Melissa Martinez. Her time of 23:43.8 put her in 48th place among the 130 runners from 19 schools that toed the starting line.

UIW’s fellow Heartland Conference member Dallas Baptist, which won the league title in October, finished fourth as a team.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1) Missouri Southern, 88 points
2) Midwestern State, 94
3) Pittsburg State (Kan), 105
4) Dallas Baptist, 111
5) Truman State (Mo), 160
6) Southwest Baptist, 173
7) Ft. Hays (Kan), 225
8) West Texas A&M, 256
9) Abilene Christian, 278
10) Central Missouri, 283
11) Newman, 318
12) Central Oklahoma, 320
13) East Central Oklahoma, 326
14) Northwest Missouri, 329
15) Emporia State (Kan), 341
16) Angelo State, 362
17) Incarnate Word, 364
18) Texas A&M International, 474
19) Texas / Permian Basin, 494

FINAL INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS

1) Winrose Karunde, Abilene Christian, 20:45.6
2) Kimi Shank, Missouri Southern, 20:55.3
3) Loice Chebol, Abilene Christian, 21:21.4
4) Danna Kelly, Truman State (Mo), 21:23.7
5) Jeniffer Cherono, West Texas A&M, 21:37.3

------

Host Harding Takes First In South

SEARCY, Ark. – The Harding Bisons reclaimed its hold on the regional title Saturday at Wyldewood Retreat Center. The Bisons finished first through fifth for a perfect 15 team points to win their seventh NCAA Division II South Region Cross Country Championship in the last eight years.

Harding freshman Daniel Kirwa remained undefeated this season, winning his seventh race in 29 minutes and 25 seconds. Kirwa is also the reigning 10,000-meter champion in the Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

"He's one of the best in the nation — not just in Division II but in every division," Harding coach Steve Guymon said. "He's a great runner, a great kid with a great attitude."

Harding freshman Philip Biwott finished the 10-kilometer race in second (30:25), senior Artek Kern was third (31:05), senior Julius Kosgei was fourth (31:37) and senior James Cheriuyot was the final Harding scorer in fifth place (31:37). The Bisons' sixth runner, Wojciech Kopec, was eighth overall in 32:14.

"I'm so excited that we're doing it as a team; it's going to be fun," Kirwa said.

The Bisons won the Gulf South Conference Championship two weeks ago in similar fashion, with Kirwa winning the race and the Bisons sweeping the top five spots. Harding coach Steve Guymon said he did not expect to finish with the rare perfect team score, but his runners had aimed to do just that.

"When a team tells out that, you feel good," Guymon said. "But honestly, there were a lot of good runners out there."

Alabama-Huntsville, the second-place team at the GSC Championship, also qualified for nationals as a team and finished second with 92 points. Mark Temple was the top runner for the Chargers, ending in 12th overall (10:23).

Florida Southern was ranked second in the South Region but ended Saturday's race with 106 points. Despite falling out of national championship contention, Florida Southern will have one representative in the national race. Scott Mackley was sixth overall in 32:03.

Stephen Hill of Christian Brothers was the second individual to qualify for nationals, finishing two seconds behind Mackley with a seventh-place finish (32:04).

The Division II National Cross Country Championship will be held at Slippery Rock, Pa., on Nov 22.