University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Western Carolina
Bulldog Cross Country Squads Have Strong Finishes at Western Carolina Open
08.29.2008 | Cross Country
CULLOWHEE, N.C - The UNC Asheville men's and women's cross country teams both opened up the 2008 season with top three finishes at the Western Carolina Open in Cullowhee, N.C. on Friday.
The Bulldog women finished in third place in the two-mile run with 82 points.
Western Carolina won the women's race with 18 points and Big South member Gardner-Webb took second with 52 points.
Freshman Emma Bussard led the way for the Bulldogs with a 10th place finish in 12:44.
Junior Katie Olert took 14th place (13:14) and was followed by sophomore Katherine Clark in 15th (13:20).
In the men's 5-kilometer race, the Bulldogs came in second with 37 points.
Western Carolina just edged out UNC Asheville with 34 points to finish in first.
The Bulldogs had five runners finish in the top 20: senior Adam Matthews came in fourth (16:26), senior Andrew Burnette finished sixth (16:38), freshman Sam Maynard took ninth (16:49), freshman Kent Rankin finished right behind Maynard in 10th (16:50), and freshman Jake Latini was 13th (17:01).
Head coach Jesse Norman was pleased with the results from both sides.
"It was a pretty good opener for us," said Norman. "It gives us a good idea for what we need to do in the future. The girls did about what I expected. The guys did well. We have some people who need to get better and we have some people who did a lot better than I thought they would. Overall, it was a good meet."
The Bulldogs return to action on Sept. 13 at the Bojangle's Invitational in Charlotte, N.C.
