The Georgia Cross Country Invitational was held on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014 in Bishop, Ga.
(Photo by John Kelley)
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The Lady Bulldogs had all five scorers finish in the top 25 and finished second with 86 points behind Auburn (30) in the 6k race at the Furman University Golf Course. The Georgia men scored 162 points and were sixth in the team competition as Furman (16) finished first through fourth and sixth individually in the 8k race to clinch the win.
[su_spacer size=”40″] I was extremely happy with the women’s performance today,” said Bulldog distance coach Patrick Cunniff, who rested a majority of his top women’s finishers during last weekend’s opener. “To finish second in a meet with the quality competition like this one had, especially in what could be considered the team’s season opener, was encouraging. Not only did our girls have a strong finish, but also the race plan that we executed should set us up for success later in the year.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “For the men, I was happy to get Daniel Navarro back in uniform and pleased with his and Jimmy Hicks’ performances. A solid 8k performance by Kisean Smith, Terrell Estime and Jeramey Hampton should pay dividends later in this cross season and on the track in the shorter races as well.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] For her second meet in a row and the second time in her career, junior Lauren Kelly led the Lady Bulldogs by taking 10th overall with a time of 21:49.18. She closed out the 2014 season by being the top Georgia finisher at last year’s NCAA South Regional.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Senior Erika Ramsey, who was racing cross for the Lady Bulldogs for the first time since 2013, was next across the line for her team. She took 14th after registering a 21:55.89. Redshirt sophomore Morgan Green continued her longer distance development to take 18th thanks to a 22:11.23.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The final two scorers for Georgia also finished in the top 25 in a Division I race that featured 115 runners. Redshirt sophomore Kate Northrop, who scored for the first time at Berry last year, finished 21st (22:16.34) while senior Brooke Koblitz, who like Ramsey was returning to the trails for the first time in two years, finished 23rd in 22:18.22.
[su_spacer size=”40″] On the men’s side, junior Jimmy Hicks led the Bulldogs for the first time in his career to pace the men’s squad, who was resting a group of their top performers. The East Lansing, Mich., native crossed the line in 25:13.67 for 20th place while his sophomore teammate Daniel Navarro raced in his seventh career meet and took 31st (25:28.33) as the second Bulldog finisher.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The third Georgia runner to finish was NCAA middle distance qualifier, junior Kisean Smith. Smith, who had only a single collegiate cross meet on his resume coming into this season, scored for the first time with a 57th-place finish (26:10.14). Two spots behind Smith was senior Michael Giulinano, who was 60th with a 26:14.36.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Redshirt freshman Terrell Estime, also a middle distance Bulldog, rounded out the scorers for Georgia with a 100th-place finish (26:53.13).
[su_spacer size=”40″] Following a two-week training session, the Bulldogs return to action in Boston, Mass., at the Coast-To-Coast Beantown Classic on Friday, September 25.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Full results and recaps from all Bulldog meets are located at georgiadogs.com. Updates on Georgia’s track and field and cross country teams can be found throughout the season on Twitter at @UGATrack.
[su_spacer size=”40″] For more information and news on Georgia’s Cross Country Teams:
[su_spacer size=”40″] GEORGIADOGS.COM – University of Georgia Official Athletic Site – Cross Country
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