University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Big South Conference Championships
Men finish second; women finish fourth at Big South Cross Country Championships
10.29.2023 | Cross Country
Men's Results
Women's Results
SALEM, Va. – The UNC Asheville cross country teams competed in the Big South Conference Championships Sunday morning (Oct. 29), with the men earning a second-place finish in the 8k and the women finishing in fourth in the 5k.
The Bulldogs had eight individuals earn All-Conference accolades, with head coach Adam Puett headlining the awards by being named the Big South Men's Coach of the Year. Puett is the first coach to earn this award on the men's side in program history.
"Today was a great day for both of our men's and women's cross country programs," Puett said. "We spoke before every competition about the importance of competing for our teammates and that each race is a celebration of the hard work that we have completed. So, it was fun to be able to celebrate at the end of the meet in the fact that we had multiple awards given to our team."
Adam Hessler set the pace for Asheville, finishing fourth individually at 24:20.3. He was followed by Jan Málek, who finished in seventh at 24:36.4 and re-set the program's freshman 8k record, and Daniel Hopkins, who finished in eighth at 24:43.5. Hessler and Malek's finishes earned them spots on the All-Conference First Team, while Hopkins earned a spot on Second Team. The men's team finish is the highest team finish for the program since the Bulldogs' second-place finish in 1998.
Dylan Major represented Asheville on the Big South All-Academic team.
On the women's side, freshman Isabel Richardson finished in eighth place at 17:26.9, and fellow freshman Ella Moore finished in 12th place at 18:11.5, setting a new personal best by 51 seconds. Richardson and Moore's finishes earned them spots on the All-Conference Second Team. Sophie Lundin was named to the Big South All-Academic Team.
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UNC Asheville Finishes (Men) |
UNC Asheville Finishes (Women) |
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Adam Hessler- 24:20.3 | 4th |
Isabel Richardson- 17:26.9 | 8th |
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Team Results (Men): |
Team Results (Women): |
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1 Charleston Southern 21 |
1 High Point 35 |
As part of UNC Asheville and USC Upstate's I-26 Rivalry, the teams with the higher finishes at today's meet would receive three points for each team. With Asheville finishing over Upstate on both the men's and women's sides, the Bulldogs now have six points and are tied in the rivalry with the Spartans.
"Our race plan was to put ourselves up front in the race and be mentally tough for our teammates, and the plan worked," Puett said. "I am very proud of how our athletes performed for each other, and I know we have even more to give in the future."
Asheville will be back in action on Friday, November 10, when the Bulldogs compete at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Players Mentioned
