Louisville, Ky.----The Wingate University cross country teams traveled to the Bluegrass State this weekend to compete in the 2010 Greater Lousiville Classic. The race was held at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park, the site of the 2010 NCAA Division II national cross country championship meet. The Bulldogs competed against many Division I teams in what was considered “the largest college meet in the south.” In all, 97 colleges and universities from 20 different states made up this year’s meet.
Three different heats were run during the day, with both Wingate teams competing in the second “blue” heat. The men ran first, finishing 33rd out of 34 teams with 903 points. The Bulldogs finished right behind SAC rival Anderson (878 points). Sophomore Andrew Smith (Oakboro, N.C.) was the top runner for Wingate at 26:58, finishing 144th overall and besting his previous personal-record 8K time by 58 seconds. Freshmen runners Steve Hammond (Warsaw, Ohio) and Binyam Ateka Belachew (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) finished second and third for the ‘Dogs, respectively, in 27:23 and 28:02. Graduate student R.J. Voetsch (Evan Mills, N.Y.) ran fourth on the team, crossing at the 28:39 mark; he was followed closely by freshmen James Lawson (Raleigh, N.C., 28:45) and Kyle Osburn (Orville, Ohio, 28:46).
In the women’s race, Wingate placed 31st out of 34 teams, totaling 746 points. The Bulldog women finished two spots in front of conference foe Mars Hill (812 points), while Anderson finished 22nd overall with 497 points. Freshman Keeley Wood (Sanford, N.C.) continued her recent success by once again placing first for Wingate, running the 5K course in 19:58. Senior Alicia Harbold (Ephrata, Penn.) finished second on the team in 20:52, followed by the freshmen duo of Brianna Stevens (Coshocton, Ohio, 21:08) and Taylor Varnadoe (Marietta, Ohio, 21:15). Sophomore Melanie Wollenberg (New Lexington, Ohio) rounded out the top-five for the Bulldog women by finishing in 21:24.
(Wingate University senior Daniel Smith contributed this article. Smith is a Parks and Recreation major from Oakboro, N.C.)
Wingate men 8K finishers (33rd of 34 teams, 328 runners)
144 Andrew Smith 26:58.40
183 Steve Hammond 27:23.00
236 Binyam Belachew 28:02.30
261 R.J. Voetsch 28:39.50
268 James Lawson 28:45.60
269 Kyle Osburn 28:46.30
287 Steve McAndrew 29:09.20
305 Ryan Burris 29:55.10
317 Blake Coats 30:43.10
323 Adam Hampton 32:07.70
327 Lamont Reaves 32:56.10
Wingate women 5K finishers (31st of 34 teams, 287 runners)
101 Keeley Wood 19:58.95
161 Alicia Harbold 20:52.70
177 Briana Stevens 21:08.39
187 Taylor Varnadoe 21:15.39
200 Melanie Wollenberg 21:24.23
239 Lindsey Lippencott 22:21.38
251 Macy Adkins 22:45.25
277 Jordan Gallagher 23:50.97
279 Laura Colwell 24:01.64
