CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL (SOCONSPORTS.COM)
2012 SOCON CROSS COUNTRY RECORD BOOK
CROSS COUNTRY PREPS FOR SOCON CHAMPIONSHIPS
Samford cross country will compete on Saturday, Oct. 27 at the 2012 SoCon Cross Country Championships in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., hosted by The Citadel. The women will run a 5,000-meter course beginning at 10 a.m. ET and the men will follow with an 8,000-meter race at 10:45 a.m.
SOCON SUPERLATIVES
- The UNCG Spartans are defending champions on both sides, as they swept the women's and men's competitions in 2011.
- Lauren D'Alessio was Samford's highest placing runner last year, finishing second to earn First Team All-SoCon honors for the second consecutive season.
- The Samford women won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.
- Samford owns two of the top three women's 5k times this season, with D'Alessio leading the entire conference. Defending 2011 champion, UNCG's Paul Chelimo, leads the conference in the men's 8k.
- D'Alessio is one of only three women since 2008 to earn two First Team All-SoCon awards and will be the only multiple-time honoree competing this weekend.
SAMFORD STAYS RANKED
Samford women's cross country remained ranked for the second-consecutive poll, though they dropped from eighth to tenth in the South Region. They are still one of only three ranked SoCon teams in any region. Appalachian State also dropped from eighth to tenth in the Southeast Region with Elon trailing right behind them in 12th.
LAST TIME OUT: CRIMSON CLASSIC
Samford's Lauren D'Alessio was the top overall finisher in the women's 5k as Samford Cross Country competed at the Crimson Classic on Friday, hosted by the University of Alabama. As a team, the women placed fifth with 110 points while the men place sixth in the 8k with 166 points.
D'Alessio led the entire field by nearly 20 seconds, winning the women's 5k convincingly with a time of 17:23.40. Rachel Roberts was in the lead pack, finishing close behind in third in 17:43.82. The next Bulldog across was Holly Benson in 29th (18:30.76) followed by Rachel Wooten (36th, 18:36.68) and Frances Bernard (49th, 18:59.31) to wrap up Samford's point scorers. Marie Demedicis and Chelsea Treadway finished neck-and-neck in 73rd (19:33.20) and 75th (19:35.83), respectively, with Margaret Grogan (92nd, 19:59.75) and Anna Laura Irvine (105th, 20:22.58) rounding out Samford's competitors.
On the men's side, the Bulldogs were led by Brandon Hazouri in 24th with a time of 26:30.59. Hazouri has now been the Bulldogs' top finisher in three of the season's four races. Fellow freshman Adam Jones was the next across the line in 32nd (26:46.05), followed by Layton Dorsett (40th, 26:53.53), Luke Weishaar (43rd, 26:55.36) and Steven Crain (62nd, 27:28.81) combining for 166 team points. Ramsey White (85th, 28:12.92) and Lucas Sieb (86th, 28:21.38) rounded out the rest of Samford's runners.
UP NEXT – NCAA SOUTH REGIONALS
In two weeks, Samford will send competitors to Tallahassee, Fla., for the NCAA South Regional meet on Friday, Nov. 9. Events at Apalachee Park will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET with the women's 6k and will continue at 9:15 a.m. with the men's 10k. Qualifying teams and at-large individuals will be chosen to advance to the NCAA Championships in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, Nov. 17.
