University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Cross Country Prepares for Big South Championships
10.30.2014 | Cross Country
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's and women's cross country teams head to the Big South Conference championships this Saturday morning at Gardner-Webb. There is no admission charge.
The women's 5K championship race is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m., while the men's 8K championship event begins at 11:30 a.m.
Both Bulldog teams have a chance for strong results. The women's team could be a contender to win the championship or finish in the top three. On the men's side, Asheville has the potential for a top three or top four finish.
On the women's side, the Bulldogs came close last year. Asheville came in third place with 78 points, just two points out of second place behind Liberty. Coastal Carolina won last year's meet with 56 points. The Blue & White came close to finishing even higher as senior Melanie Kulesz was leading the race late before falling down and finishing in 14th place.
Erin Dalton and Sarah Heisner earned all-conference honors for the Bulldogs a year ago with Dalton taking sixth place and Heisner coming in 12th. Dalton has enjoyed an outstanding season for Asheville in 2014 and will be one of the runners to beat this year.
“We believe our women have a chance to be in the mix of things to win on Saturday,” stated Bulldog coach Jesse Norman. “We're going to have to race very well and have everyone execute to have a chance but we're capable.
“And one big factor on Saturday will be the weather,” added Norman. “The conditions will be cold and how everyone deals with those conditions will be a key to where everyone finishes.”
On the men's side, Norman believes his team can improve on last year's sixth-place finish.
“We just need to keep it together as one group, and if we can run as a group and finish strong then we have a chance at a pretty high finish,” explained Norman.
The Bulldog men have had good balance throughout the season with three different runners finishing as Asheville's top runner in meets in 2014. Patrick Osborne, Andy Thornburg and Brent Schouler have all led the pack for the Blue & White this year.
