9.20.2011

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University men's and women's cross country ran in the adidas Cross Country Challenge on September 16 at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.  The women placed third among 10 teams, and the men finished sixth among nine teams.  The Lancers, coached by fifth-year head coach Catherine Hanson, will participate in the third annual Charlotte Cross Country Invitational on Friday, Sept. 30, at the historic McAlpine Park beginning at 4 p.m. in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A Look Back At adidas Cross Country Challenge
Junior Alisha Royal|Vinton (William Byrd) led Longwood in the women's race with her school record and personal career-best time 18:23 over the 5000-meter course.  She placed 16th among 96 runners with her new school record time that bettered the previous record of 18:34 ran by Kristin Novara in 2005.  Royal was followed closely by senior Jessica Alley|New Castle (Craig County) (19:07, 27th), along with freshman Elisabeth Drake|Hayes (Gloucester) (20:12, 40th), juniors Megan Short|Sicklerville, N.J. (Timber Creek) (20:37, 47th), Jenna Sprinkle|Buchanan (James River) (20:58, 53rd) and Rebecca Denny|Virginia Beach (Kempsville) (22:04, 62nd), as well as sophomore Emberli McGann|Stuarts Draft (Stuarts Draft) (22:46, 69th).  Alley also ran a personal career-best, and posted the fourth-best 5K time in the program's history, while Drake and McGann each ran collegiate-best times.  North Carolina State took first place with 23 points, and unattached runner Andie Cozzarelli was the individual winner with her time of 17:12.

Freshman Nick Reed|Fairfax (Robinson) led Longwood in the men's race with his collegiate-best time of 16:18 over the 5000-meter course.  He placed 30th among 96 runners while running the second-fastest 5K in program history only behind the record 16:05 posted by D.J. Palmer in 2006.  Reed was followed closely by junior Sean Flynn|Goodview (Roanoke Catholic) (16:24, 32nd) and freshman Stephen Ferguson|Columbia (Goochland) (16:37, 35th), along with sophomore Kyle Moller|Gainesville (Battlefield) (17:05, 48th), senior Justin Cooke|Chesterfield (Manchester) (17:10, 51st), as well as freshmen Matt Wallace|Lynchburg (Brookville) (17:25, 55th) and Ryan Canoy|Williamsburg (Bruton) (17:53, 63rd).  Flynn (tied fourth-best 5K time) and Ferguson (ninth-best 5K time) also ran new personal career-best times as well.  North Carolina State took first place with 15 points, led by individual race winner Greg Dame with his time of 14:57.

Head Coach Catherine Hanson
“My women's team really came through at this meet.  Their hard work, commitment, and consistency in training are really starting to show.  The weather was perfect for them as a light rain fell right at the start of mile two that included a 600-meter hill.  Alisha went out with the top women from N.C. State who came through mile one at 5:31, and she looked terrific.  Jessica was next at 5:49, and Megan was also under a 6-minute pace.  The strength from the high mileage they are running with very little 5K speed-training is great.  I am excited to see how the next two weeks will pull it all together for them on McAlpine Park's fast course!  I expect that Alisha's school record set this week will be broke once again.  We're really enjoying the season thus far, and I am especially happy with how well all the girls are progressing with their times getting faster and faster.

“The weather was perfect for the men's race … fall weather for September racing usually doesn't set up for better times.  The Wolfpack runners took the first mile out at a 4:44 pace … to be expected from a team ranked first in the Southeast Region.  My top three runners, Nick, Sean and Stephen took the first mile at a 5-minute pace that set them up very nicely for overall placement. It was a very competitive field, and our men did very well as the top three each ran personal records and Nick ran the second-fastest time in school history.  We head back to a pretty competitive field in two weeks where we race an 8K at McAlpine Park.  The whole squad will run there, and I am still looking for my fourth and fifth men.  The whole squad is working so hard for those top spots and the way in which we are progressing -- the higher mileage plan, the aggressive long runs and quality threshold runs -- is setting it up well for everyone.

A Look Ahead At The Charlottes Cross Country Invitational
Taking place at the historic McAlpine Park in Charlotte, North Carolina two weeks before the Pre-National Meet on a course that has played host to the High School Footlocker Regional Championships, several conference championships, the USATF Club Cross Country Championships and the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championships.  The meet will feature the women's 5,000-meter race at approximately 4 p.m., followed by the men's 8,000-meter race.  The 2010 meet featured 25 women's teams and 22 men's squads with 200-plus runners per race.

It's Royal Time
Alisha Royal established a new 5K school record with her personal career-best time of 18:23 at the adidas Cross Country Challenge Sept. 16.  Her time was 11 seconds faster than the program's previous record of 18:34 ran by Kristin Novara in 2005.  It's a well-deserved record for the third-year runner who has battled nagging injuries during her first two years while finishing just two races. This year, however, Royal is injury-free and has not only finished two races, but has led the team in each race. Expectations are high for Royal who was a two-time All-State honoree in high school and Region Champion as a senior.

Joining The Record Book
A total of five runners joined the Longwood Cross Country record book with their respective performances at the adidas Cross Country Challenge.  As mentioned, Alisha Royal set a new school record for the women's 5K, and Jessica Alley posted the fourth-fastest 5K time in school history.  On the men's side, Nick Reed ran the second-fastest 5K time in the program's history, while Sean Flynn and Stephen Ferguson ran the fourth (tie) and ninth-best 5K times, respectively.

2011 Captains
Justin Cooke will serve as the men's team captain for the first time, while Jessica Alley is serving as the women's team captain for the second consecutive season.

Up Next
Longwood will participate in the Blue Ridge Open hosted by Appalachian State University on October 14 in Boone, North Carolina at 4:30 p.m.