Western Carolina Compete in Southern Conference Tournament - WESTERN CAROLINA OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Western Carolina Compete in Southern Conference Tournament

Women's cross country finishes fifth, while the men's place eighth.

Oct. 29, 2000

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 Appalachian1s Mary Jayne Harrelson and Ryan Kendall1s win for Chattanooga in the men1s competition.

Harrelson led from start to finish in the women1s 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. Furman1s 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. Appalachian1s Sarah Primeau crossed the line fourth with a time of 18:11. UNCG1s Brigid O1Connell placed fifth, UTC1s Andrea Davis came in sixth, Stephanie Feagan of College of Charleston placed seventh, Emily Campbell of East Tennessee State finished ninth and ASU1s 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 women1s scoring 12th with 332 points.

In the men1s 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 Appalachian1s No. 5 man finished 12th and Chattanooga1s 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. Appalachian1s Ben Bissette finished second with a time of 25:17. VMI1s Joe Smith followed in third with a time of 25:27. UTC1s 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 ASU1s Franklin Manchester placed eighth. UTC1s Dwight Thomas crossed the line ninth, Appalachian1s 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. Furman1s Gene Mullin garnered Coach of the Year plaudits following his women1s team1s performance. Appalachian1s Allen won the women1s 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).