Spartans Ready for Regional Action
11/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie Parker, kparker@uscupstate.edu
A-Sun Regional Men's Preview
A-Sun Regional Women's Preview
NCAA Southeast Regional Page
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's and women's cross country teams are set to compete at the 2012 NCAA Southeast Regionals Friday hosted by UNC Charlotte at McAlpine Park with the women's 6K scheduled for noon and the men's 10K following at 1:15 p.m.
The back-to-back Atlantic Sun Championship men's team will compete in the 10K Friday at the region meet. Upstate will be led by three-time A-Sun individual champion Gilbert Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya), who was an All-Southeast Region selection in 2011. Last year, the senior finished 11th at the region meet with a time of 30:21.60, helping the Spartans finish 22nd overall. His time ranks at the best 10K mark in program history.
At the 2012 A-Sun Championships, Kemboi crossed the line in 24:16.70, while seniors Davey Dennison (Carlisle, Pa.) and Cameron Thomas (Niceville, Fla.) followed in eighth and ninth place, respectively. Dennison and Thomas both turned in career-best 8K times at conference meet Oct. 27, coming in at 25:05.40 and 25:07.10. Junior Ross Oden (Salisbury, N.C.) was the fourth All-Conference honoree for the Spartans at the A-Sun meet, taking 12th-place with a personal-record time of 25:25.80.
"This will be a good test for our men's team," said Upstate Associate Head Coach Carson Blackwelder. "It will give them a chance to see where they stack up in the region and how far we have come in the last year."
On the women's side, sophomore Jasmine Polite (Goose Creek, S.C.) helped the Spartans to a 17th-place finish at last year's Southeast Regionals, crossing the line with a time of 23:23.90. She was the first Upstate finisher at the A-Sun Championships Oct. 27, recording a career-best time of 18:49.50 to come in 24th-place. Earlier this season, Polite recorded a personal record in the 6K at the Paul Short Invitational Sept. 28, clocking in at 19:07.28.
"Regionals will be a great learning experience for our women's team and a great opportunity to get some 6K PR's," Blackwelder said.
In the Upstate women's last outing, seven athletes recorded personal-best times at the A-Sun meet including Polite. Freshman Anastasia Kolesnitchenko (Boiling Springs, S.C.) was the second finisher for the Spartans, posting a personal-best time of 19:15.10 and placing 35th. Upstate's third finisher at the A-Sun Championships was senior Hannah Chaney (Brunswick, Ohio), crossing the finish line with a career-best mark of 19:45.70. Her classmate Laura Transue (Anderson, S.C.) was close behind, also turning in a personal-record with a time of 19:59.00, beating her 2010 mark of 19:59.68.
Official results for the 2012 Southeast Regionals will be available here following the conclusion of both the women's 6K and the men's 10K races. Follow the Spartans this season on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
