University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Host Asheville Cross Country Carnvial
09.17.2014 | Cross Country
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's and women's cross country teams will have a home meet this Saturday morning when the Bulldogs host the third annual Asheville Cross Country at the Asheville Christian Academy Course. Admission is free. Asheville Christian Academy is located on 74 Riverwood Road in Swannanoa.
Both college and high school teams will be at the meet. The men's collegiate 8K race begins at 9 a.m., followed by the women's 5K race at 9:45 a.m. The high school boys 5K race starts at 10:20 a.m. with the girls 5K beginning at 11 a.m.
This year's collegiate line-up is highlighted by the University of Alabama men's and women's teams coming to Asheville to participate in the 12-team race. Both Crimson Tide teams are ranked in the South Region. The women's squad is ranked third, while the men's is ranked eighth.
Also scheduled to be in the race will be Marshall, Western Carolina, Wofford and Montreat. This is easily the best line-up of schools in the field.
“We're really excited to have a team the caliber of Alabama coming to the meet this year,” stated Bulldog coach Jesse Norman. “This meet has really grown a great deal over the past two years and that will only allow us to grow this meet even further.
“We really appreciate the staff at Asheville Christian Academy allowing us to use their facility for this event,” added Norman.
Norman says both his teams are quite excited to have a home meet and look forward to running on Saturday in front of their friends and family.
“Our kids can't wait to run on Saturday,” explained Norman. “It's nice to run in front of your friends, and we'll get that opportunity.
“We're also excited about competing against Alabama and some of the teams in the field,” added Norman. “Running against great competition can only make you better.”
Both Bulldog teams ran at the Big South Preview last weekend at Gardner-Webb. Asheville didn't run some of its top runners in the race but both teams still managed to finish in the middle of the pack. The men's team took sixth, while the women's squad finished in seventh.
On the men's side, Asheville was led by senior Brent Schouler who finished the 8K event with a time of 28:26 and came in 24th place. Patrick Osborne wasn't too far behind in 29th at 27:48.
Caleb Smith took 32nd at 28:39, followed by Nathan Kirse in 33rd at 28:40. Ryan Catrine posted a time of 28:55 and in 35th.
The women's team was led by freshman Casey Greenwalt. She took 21st over the 5K course at 20:24. Freshman Phoebe Schneider took 27th at 20:32. Sarah Heisner was right behind Schneider at 20:33.
Freshman Maddie Lowe took 45th at 21:41. Marissa Banks came in 49th with a time of 21:47.
