Two NCAA Qualifiers Highlight Regional Meet

Friday, November 11

Tallahassee, Fla.

All Day

Samford University

NCAA South Regionals

11.11.16 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Under the direction of first-year coach Pat McGregor, the Samford University cross-country teams have experienced a season of firsts in 2016.

Personal records have never been lower. Team finishes have never been higher. New heights have been scaled.

Those trends continued on Friday morning at Apalachee Regional Park, site of the NCAA South Region Championships.

Juniors Karisa Nelson and Arsène Guillorel each placed fourth in their respective races to earn individual qualifying bids to the NCAA national meet.

In the women's 6K, Nelson clocked a 41-second personal-best 20 minutes, 14.5 seconds. Guillorel lowered his 10K personal best by nine seconds, as he crossed the finish in 30:24.6.

This is the first time in program history that Samford has qualified both a male and female representative for NCAAs.

Nelson, the 2016 Southern Conference Runner of the Year, is the first Samford female to qualify for nationals since former star Lauren D'Alessio advanced in 2012. Guillorel clinched a berth to the national meet in 2015 after finishing runner-up at regionals.
In punching their tickets to NCAAs, Nelson and Guillorel also paced their teams to top-flight finishes.

The Bulldog women, who were ranked 14th entering the meet, placed eighth with 272 points. The Bulldog men, who were ranked seventh entering the meet, placed sixth with 165 points.

The women had not finished eighth or higher since 2007, when they took seventh. The men had not finished in the top 10 since they took 12th in 1999.

"I am extremely proud of coach McGregor and the cross-country program. There were so many firsts today with multiple athletes qualifying for nationals, but I'm most proud of the highest team finishes on both sides in recent Samford history," said Rod Tiffin, director of cross-country. "We couldn't ask for anything more from this group."

Every Bulldog that competed registered a personal-best mark in their respective event.

On the women's side, junior Emma Garner placed 14th in 20:42.2 She was followed by junior Anna Long, who placed 56th in 21:34.6. The freshmen trio of Mary Grace Strozier (83rd, 22:07.4), Presley Weems (130th, 22:53.6) and Shian Mallory (131st, 22:54) rounded out the team's competing runners.

Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi secured the two automatic team qualifying spots for NCAAs. The Magnolia State squads placed first and second with 66 and 67 points, respectively. The University of Central Florida's Anne-Marie Blaney won the women's race in 20:07.2

On the men's side, sophomore Ben Bryant posted a 27th-place finish in 31:17.4. For the first half of the race, he ran stride for stride with redshirt senior Brandon Hazouri and freshman Dillon Dean. Hazouri finished 38th in 31:43.5, and Dean finished 46th in 31:52.2.
Junior Paul Richardson capped the team's scoring with a 59th-place finish in 32:16.9.

Ole Miss (46) and Middle Tennessee State University (61) clinched automatic team berths to the national meet. Middle Tennessee's Jacob Choge won the men's race in 30:19.8l.

The meet concluded the season for all Bulldogs except Nelson and Guillorel. The pair will prepare for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 19, in Terre Haute, Ind.

"Hopefully we will end up with two All-Americans before it's all said and done," Tiffin said.

Women
Karisa Nelson – 4th - 20:14.5 – PR
Emma Garner – 14th – 20:42.2 – PR
Anna Long – 56th – 21:34.6 – PR
Mary Grace Strozier – 83rd – 22:07.4 – PR
Presley Weems – 130th – 22:53.6 – PR
Shian Mallory – 131st – 22:54 – PR

Men
Arsène Guillorel – 4th – 30:24.6 – PR
Ben Bryant – 27th – 31:17.4 - PR
Brandon Hazouri – 38th – 31:43.5 – PR
Dillon Dean – 46th – 31:52.2 – PR
Paul Richardson – 59th – 32:16.9 - PR
Owen Bailey – 81st – 32:41.3 – PR
Josh Salter – 91st – 32:52.1 - PR