University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Covered Bridge Open
Men finish third, women finish sixth at Covered Bridge Open
09.15.2023 | Cross Country
BOONE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville cross country teams recorded a third-place finish in the men's 8K and a sixth-place finish in the women's 5K Friday morning at the Covered Bridge Open in Boone.
The men finished with 86 points behind Appalachian State in second place with 51 points and Florida State in first place with 22 points. Thirteen teams competed, with four of the 13 representing the Big South Conference. Finishing behind the Bulldogs from the Big South was Radford in fourth, USC Upstate in seventh, and Winthrop in eighth.
Adam Hessler led Asheville with a second-place finish, with a personal best time of 24:20.84. Hessler holds the second-fastest 8K time in program history, and his finish today beat his mark that he set in 2021 (24:22).
Out of 129 runners, Asheville had eight of its 14 runners finish in the top 50.
18. Daniel Hopkins (25:06.58) PR
21. Quinn Jacquez (25:11.13) PR
30. Yates Hockaday (25:27.18)
35. Alex Haines (25:37.25) PR
44. Jonas Roach (26:00.44)
45. Andrew Okon (26:12.28)
50. Nate Sullivan (26:26.99)
On the women's side, Asheville finished with 162 points behind Tennessee Tech in fifth, Appalachian State in fourth, Radford in third, Florida State in second, and Wake Forest in first. Asheville finished ahead of nine teams, including Big South opponents Winthrop (eighth) and USC Upstate (10th).
In her collegiate debut, Isabel Richardson was the top finisher for the women's team, as she earned a 17th-place finish with a time of 17:59.11 in the 5K. Sophie Lundin followed in 39th place with a time of 18:46.20 (PR), and Emma Kennett finished in 40th with a time of 18:55.48 (5K). Ella Moore rounded out the Bulldogs in the top 50 with a 44th-place finish and a time of 19:04.24. There were a total of 119 runners on the women's side.
Asheville returns to the course on Saturday, Sept. 30, as they travel to Louisville, Ky. to compete in the Live in Lou Classic.
Players Mentioned
