Sept. 18, 2010
Women's 5K Results
Men's 8K Results
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. --- The Samford University cross country teams got their 2010 seasons underway Saturday at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Bulldog women placed third out of 18 teams while the men came in ninth out of 18 teams.
"This was an impressive start for the girls," Samford head coach Rod Tiffin said. "We would have put four in front of our number one girl from last year. Finishing third lets us know that we are exactly where we need to be."
The women tallied 111 points, finishing 58 points out of the lead. Texas A&M took the top spot with 53 points followed by host team Alabama in second place with 57. The Bulldogs also finished ahead of notable programs like Auburn and Ole Miss.
Sophomore Lauren D'Alessio was the top runner for the Samford women in the 5K race, finishing sixth with a time of 17:33.40. Senior Hillary Neal and junior Deanna Zidar finished 20th and 21st, respectively, with times of 18:18.30 and 18:20.70. Sophomore Holly Benson came in 28th for the Bulldog women with a time of 18:32.10 while freshman Claire Grogan placed 36th with a time of 18:51.70.
Junior Lillie Jackson came in 45th place with a time of 19:06.00 while junior Alli Keithan placed 56th with a time of 19:29.20. Senior Jillian Klassen rounded out the Samford field, placing 61st with a time of 19:35.60.
The men tallied 276 points to finish ninth. Alabama claimed the top spot with 57 points followed by Ole Miss (78), Texas A&M (82), Auburn (95), Kennesaw State (108), Columbus State (135), Mississippi Valley State (222) and Troy (250).
Leading the Bulldogs was senior Scott Cope who finished 44th with a time of 26:47.90 on the 8K course. Freshman Layton Dorsett placed 49th with a time of 26:59.20 while freshman James Graham came in 70th with a time of 27:51.50. Sophomore Ramsey White placed fourth for the Bulldogs, coming in 77th place with a time of 28:19.90. Henry Stevens-Carty came in 106th with a time of 30:18.80 followed by George Mardre at 116th place with a time of 31:01.00.
"Our guys have got some work to do but we knew that coming in," Tiffin said. "We will continue to work toward the conference championship and see where we end up."
Blaise Carie and Conrad Taylor ran unattached. Carie took 22nd place with a time of 25:39.50 while Taylor placed 93rd with a time of 29:19.30.
The Bulldogs will be back in action next Saturday, Sept. 25, at the Brooks Memphis Twilight.
