Men finish among the top 10; women among the top 30

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 5, 2013) – The ETSU men’s and women’s cross country teams got back into action Saturday morning with a ninth-place finish for the men and a 27^th-place finish for the women at the 12th annual Greater Louisville Classic at the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.

Both Buccaneers’ teams competed in the gold seeded race to begin the day of competition and each turned in satisfactory performances. The men participated in an 8,000-meter race featuring 163 runners, while the women trekked 5,000 meters featuring 169 runners.

After a pair of top-three finishes to start the season, the ETSU men regressed a bit but still finished among the top 10 overall. The Blue and Gold were paced by junior Filip Jalovy (Modrice, Czech Republic) who registered a time of 25:25.61 and a 21st overall finish. Jalovy was followed in the standings by fellow junior Adam Chase (Kingsport, Tenn.) in 33rd place with a time of 25:37.01.

Two additional ETSU runners finished among the top 50 overall with Angus Baldwin (Tumbi Umbi, Australia) placing 45th overall with a time of 25:47.10, while teammate Anders Ludvigsen (Odense, Denmark) trailed directly behind in 46th place and a 25:47.39 time.

Senior Desmond Pierce (Morristown, Tenn.) followed with a time of 25:53.27 and a 51st overall standing. while junior Sean Duffy (Jonesborough, Tenn.) rounded out the top 60 with a 26:00.38 time.

Completing the ETSU men’s contingent was junior James Miller (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) in 69th overall with a time of 26:09.02, freshman Simeon Roberts (Greeneville, Tenn.) in 104th overall with a 26:47.28 time and fellow rookie Matt Warriner (Maryville, Tenn.) in 139th place overall with a time of 27:46.31.

The top-seven scores added up to 175 points for ETSU, good for ninth place overall out of 31 teams . The University of Guelph led the way in the gold seeded race with a score of 31.

“The men had a tough, disappointing race today but I’m confident they will bounce back as we head into the second half of the season,” said ETSU Director of Track & Field/Cross Country George Watts. “With that said, the men were able to beat a higher ranked regional team along with another sub-30 second spread between our top five.”

The women were once again led by sophomore sensation Katie Hirko (Oley, Pa.) who notched a time of 17:41.10 and an 11th overall standing. As has become the norm this season, Hirko was backed by senior Chelsea Clark (Fairmont, W. Va.) who trailed in 45th overall with an 18:25.04 time.

Junior Jessica Palmer (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) sneaked into the top-120 with a time of 19:37.35 and a 118th overall standing. Freshman Victoria Hutchens (Stuart, Va.) followed with a 130th placing and a 19:49.48 time.

Sophomore Lisa Pallotta (Leesburg, Va.) trailed in 137th overall with a time of 19:56.58, while freshman Carmen Hilliard (Oak Island, N.C.) closed things out for the Buccaneers in 161st place and a 20:46.07 time.

The women’s finishes accumulated to a score of 394 for the Buccaneers, good for a 27th overall finish out of 32 squads. As they also did in the men’s gold seeded race, the University of Guelph topped the standings with 17 points.

“The women ran closer to their season bests,” said Watts, “and I look forward to continued improvement.”

“We have finished off a very difficult training cycle and as a result we raced with dead legs and it showed.”

“We had several positives today including Filip’s return from a recent injury and Katie continuing to lead the team with another strong performance.”

Both of the ETSU cross country programs will have a week off from competition next week and will return to action on Friday, Oct. 18, at the Blue Ridge Open in Boone, N.C.

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