University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
USC Upstate Invitational
Richardson breaks school record; men finish second at Upstate Invitational
10.14.2023 | Cross Country
Spartanburg, S.C. - Nearing the peak of their season, the UNC Asheville Cross Country team traveled to Spartanburg, South Carolina, to compete in the 2023 Upstate XC Invitational. The men's team was successful with a second-place finish out of a total of 27 teams, with the women finishing in 12th to put both teams in contention for their upcoming Big South Conference Championship.
In terms of individual performances, Junior Adam Hessler finished in seventh place in a time of 24:30.0, closely followed by fellow junior Daniel Hopkins (11th) and freshman Jan Málek (17th) in a time of 24:44.9 (PR) and 24:58.6 respectively. In a race of 275 men, six of UNC Asheville's squad finished in the top 50 including Yates Hockaday (29th - 25:18.4), Quinn Jacquez (36th - 25:29.1), and Andrew Okon (40th - 25:33.3 PR).
There was also success on the women's team with freshman Isabel Richardson, in her third collegiate race, breaking both the freshman record (17:58) and school record (17:36) to finish seventh in a time of 17:23.9. In addition, sophomore Emma Kennett ran a personal best of 18:45.3 to finish in 59th, putting her 26th on the Women's All-Time List. She was followed by fellow sophomore Sophie Lundin (68th - 18:50.9), freshman Ella Moore who ran a personal best of 19:02.2 to come in 81st, and sophomore Alyx Beausoleil (141st - 19:57.9) to put five women within the top half of the field.
The Bulldogs will next compete in Salem, Virginia, in the Big South Conference Championships on Sunday, Oct. 28.
Players Mentioned
