University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Cross Country to Compete at NCAA Regional Championships
11.08.2018 | Cross Country
ROCK HILL, S.C. – After a really strong performance in the Big South Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships, UNC Asheville cross country will compete on Friday, Nov. 9, in the 2018 NCAA Regional Championships at the Winthrop Farm.
The women's 6k will get underway at 11 a.m. on Friday, while the men's 10k will begin at 12 p.m.
BULLDOG BITES
2018 NCAA Regional Championship
To learn more about the event, please visit HERE. To follow live, please visit HERE.
Bulldogs at Big South Championship
UNC Asheville men's and women's cross country for the second consecutive year both finished fourth at the Big South Cross Country Championship.
The UNC Asheville women finished fourth in the event presented by Musco Sports Lighting and UCS at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 26, with a team average time of 19:45 in the 5K race.
Two Bulldogs finished in the top-15 with three-time Big South Runner of the Week Clara Wincheski with a time of 18:36.2 earning all-conference honors with a fifth place finish.
UNC Asheville's Kelley Coleman ended her efforts in 14th with a time of 19:21.7.
The UNC Asheville men finished fourth in the 8K race with a team time average of 27:26.
The Bulldogs had three in the top-15 individually with Zach Boone earning all-conference honors with a time of 26:47.1 that allowed him to finish 12th.
Thomas Little ended his efforts in 14th with a time of 26:51.3, while Sage Turner was 15th with a time of 27:04.1.
Two Years in a Row
Last year's fourth place finish at the Big South Championships allowed the UNC Asheville men to secure their best finish since 2003. The Bulldogs held steady for the second straight year with another strong fourth place finish.
Top-6 Since 2012
With its fourth place finish as a team this year once again at the Big South Championships, UNC Asheville women's cross country has now finished in the top-6 every year since 2012. The Bulldogs finished third in 2013, and Asheville has finished fourth as a team in three of the last four years (2015, 2017 and 2018).
Quotable
"We're excited about going to regional championships," UNC Asheville cross country head coach Jesse Norman said. "We're leaving today (Thursday) to go down there and preview the course and get a feel for it. Last time we were was when Winthrop hosted the conference championships and we had a pretty good experience there. We ran pretty well. It's a course that you can go out and run fast on if you are not afraid of any of the hills and if you run the downhills accordingly.
"We're pretty excited. It's a 6k for the women and a 10k for the men, so it's going to be interesting with the guys going up to the 10k. With the ladies, they have a done a 6k already this year, so we'll be looking to see what their improvement is from ECU to this one. With the guys, we are bringing pretty much all upperclassmen guys, so I am not as worried about them making that adjustment to the 10k. The guys are all super-excited about racing the 10k, which is probably the first time we have had that, so that element in itself is going to be pretty cool to see what they do."
Big South All-Academic
For the second time in his career, UNC Asheville senior Blanton Gillespie was selected as a Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Gillespie was chosen as the 2018 Big South Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Big South Cross Country Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting and UCS at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 26.
The honor is just the latest for Gillespie, who was named the 2018 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May of 2018.
The Chemistry major with a minor in Neuroscience owns a 3.996 grade-point average.
The Shelby, N.C. native was selected to the 2018 Big South Men's Indoor Track and Field All-Academic Team following the conclusion of the Indoor Conference Championships on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. He was also selected to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District® Men's Track & Field/Cross Country District 3 Team.
Gillespie finished 36th individually at the 2018 Big South Cross Country Championship with a time of 28:05.5.
In addition to Gillespie's honor, Kelley Coleman was tabbed to the 2018 Big South Women's Cross Country All-Academic Team.
Coleman is a senior Environmental Studies major at UNC Asheville. She boasts a 3.440 grade-point average.
Last year, the Cincinnati, Ohio native earned All-Conference honors in cross country with an 11th-place finish at the 2017 Big South Cross Country Championship. Coleman has finished in the top-40 in all Bulldog events this season, including a third place finish at the Asheville Cross Country Invitational. She secured a top-15 finish (14th) at the 2018 Big South Cross Country Championship with a time of 19:21.7.
The women's 6k will get underway at 11 a.m. on Friday, while the men's 10k will begin at 12 p.m.
BULLDOG BITES
2018 NCAA Regional Championship
To learn more about the event, please visit HERE. To follow live, please visit HERE.
Bulldogs at Big South Championship
UNC Asheville men's and women's cross country for the second consecutive year both finished fourth at the Big South Cross Country Championship.
The UNC Asheville women finished fourth in the event presented by Musco Sports Lighting and UCS at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 26, with a team average time of 19:45 in the 5K race.
Two Bulldogs finished in the top-15 with three-time Big South Runner of the Week Clara Wincheski with a time of 18:36.2 earning all-conference honors with a fifth place finish.
UNC Asheville's Kelley Coleman ended her efforts in 14th with a time of 19:21.7.
The UNC Asheville men finished fourth in the 8K race with a team time average of 27:26.
The Bulldogs had three in the top-15 individually with Zach Boone earning all-conference honors with a time of 26:47.1 that allowed him to finish 12th.
Thomas Little ended his efforts in 14th with a time of 26:51.3, while Sage Turner was 15th with a time of 27:04.1.
Two Years in a Row
Last year's fourth place finish at the Big South Championships allowed the UNC Asheville men to secure their best finish since 2003. The Bulldogs held steady for the second straight year with another strong fourth place finish.
Top-6 Since 2012
With its fourth place finish as a team this year once again at the Big South Championships, UNC Asheville women's cross country has now finished in the top-6 every year since 2012. The Bulldogs finished third in 2013, and Asheville has finished fourth as a team in three of the last four years (2015, 2017 and 2018).
Quotable
"We're excited about going to regional championships," UNC Asheville cross country head coach Jesse Norman said. "We're leaving today (Thursday) to go down there and preview the course and get a feel for it. Last time we were was when Winthrop hosted the conference championships and we had a pretty good experience there. We ran pretty well. It's a course that you can go out and run fast on if you are not afraid of any of the hills and if you run the downhills accordingly.
"We're pretty excited. It's a 6k for the women and a 10k for the men, so it's going to be interesting with the guys going up to the 10k. With the ladies, they have a done a 6k already this year, so we'll be looking to see what their improvement is from ECU to this one. With the guys, we are bringing pretty much all upperclassmen guys, so I am not as worried about them making that adjustment to the 10k. The guys are all super-excited about racing the 10k, which is probably the first time we have had that, so that element in itself is going to be pretty cool to see what they do."
Big South All-Academic
For the second time in his career, UNC Asheville senior Blanton Gillespie was selected as a Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Gillespie was chosen as the 2018 Big South Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Big South Cross Country Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting and UCS at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 26.
The honor is just the latest for Gillespie, who was named the 2018 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May of 2018.
The Chemistry major with a minor in Neuroscience owns a 3.996 grade-point average.
The Shelby, N.C. native was selected to the 2018 Big South Men's Indoor Track and Field All-Academic Team following the conclusion of the Indoor Conference Championships on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. He was also selected to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District® Men's Track & Field/Cross Country District 3 Team.
Gillespie finished 36th individually at the 2018 Big South Cross Country Championship with a time of 28:05.5.
In addition to Gillespie's honor, Kelley Coleman was tabbed to the 2018 Big South Women's Cross Country All-Academic Team.
Coleman is a senior Environmental Studies major at UNC Asheville. She boasts a 3.440 grade-point average.
Last year, the Cincinnati, Ohio native earned All-Conference honors in cross country with an 11th-place finish at the 2017 Big South Cross Country Championship. Coleman has finished in the top-40 in all Bulldog events this season, including a third place finish at the Asheville Cross Country Invitational. She secured a top-15 finish (14th) at the 2018 Big South Cross Country Championship with a time of 19:21.7.
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