October 28, 2000
Appalachian Men and Furman Women Claim Titles
Chattanoogas Kendall and Harrelson Garner Individual Top Honors
BOONE, N.C. --The Appalachian State men and the Furman women both outdistanced
the competition to win their respective races at the 2000 Southern Conference
Championships today, hosted by Appalachian State University. The races witnessed
several outstanding individual performances, most noticeably the fourth championship
in as many years by Appalachian's Mary Jayne Harrelson and Ryan Kendall's win
for Chattanooga in the men's competition.
Harrelson led from start to finish in the women's race.The 1999 cross country
All-American jumped out to an early lead and never was threatened. Harrelson,
who became the second female to garner SoCon Most-Outstanding Performer for
three consecutive years, cruised through the State Farm Field course with a
time of 17:17. Furman's Jill Bradley finished second, clocking in at 17:39 for
the 5,000-meter course. Gina Recher of Chattanooga placed third with a time
of 17:54. Appalachian's Sarah Primeau crossed the line fourth with a time of
18:11. UNCG's Brigid O'Connell placed fifth, UTC's Andrea Davis came in sixth,
Stephanie Feagan of College of Charleston placed seventh, Emily Campbell of
East Tennessee State finished ninth and ASU's Johanna Allen crossed the finish
line 10th.
Furman placed three athletes, 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively and won the
team scoring with 47 points. Appalachian came in second with a total of 53 points.
UTC finished third (72), UNCG ended up fourth (136), while Western Carolina
worked for a fifth-place effort (145), College of Charleston placed sixth (159),
Davidson wrapped up seventh (167), East Tennessee State finished eighth (211),
VMI ranked ninth (227), Georgia Southern placed 10th (288), the Citadel earned
11th (291) and Wofford completed the women's scoring 12th with 332 points.
In the men's race, Appalachian claimed five of the top 12 spots to garner the
victory. The team title came down to the fifth runners for ASU and UTC, where
Appalachian's No. 5 man finished 12th and Chattanooga's No. 5 placed 62nd.
Kendall made it through the 8K trail in 25:13 to become the fourth UTC runner
in five years to win the individual crown. Appalachian's Ben Bissette finished
second with a time of 25:17. VMI's Joe Smith followed in third with a time
of 25:27. UTC's Curtis Gadela finished fourth, Matt Nolan of UNCG placed fifth,
Andrew Cawood came in sixth for The Citadel, Greg Sprowl of ETSU came in seventh,
while ASU's Franklin Manchester placed eighth.UTC's Dwight Thomas crossed the
line ninth, Appalachian's Shawn Evans rounded out the top 10.
Appalachian freshman Joe Halin finished 11th to win Freshman of the Year. Appalachian
head coach Mike Curcio earned Coach of the Year honors. Furman's Gene Mullin
garnered Coach of the Year plaudits following his women's team's performance.
Appalachian's Allen won the women's Freshman of the Year honors.
Appalachian totaled 43 points en route to the victory. Chattanooga placed second
(91), Furman trailed in third (115). The Citadel finished fourth (121), VMI
placed fifth (138), UNCG tied for sixth with Davidson (161), Western Carolina
ended ranked eighth (163), East Tennessee State came in ninth (169), College
of Charleston finished 10th (278) and Wofford placed 11th (311).