North Carolina State University Athletics
Cross Country Ready To Run At Great American Festival
9/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Sept. 25, 2002
NC State's nationally ranked men's and women's cross country teams will take a short trip to Charlotte, N.C. for Friday's Great American Cross Country Championships. The Wolfpack will also enter teams in the men's and women's "B" races, along with several unattached runners.
NC State currently ranks No. 6 in the nation, according to the FinishLynx Women's Cross Country Rankings released on Sept. 23. Returning All-American Megan Coombs will lead the runners in the Wolfpack's seeded women's race. Coombs, a junior, finished 15th at the NCAA Championship last year and is looking to improve on her already astonishing accomplishment. Freshman Julia Lucas will also be running with the squad. Lucas made her debut for the Wolfpack three weeks ago at the Adidas Invitational in South Bend, Ind. where she finished third overall.
Renee Gunning, a transfer from Villinova, will make her first start for the team on Friday. Gunning placed ninth at the Big East championships last fall and finished 20th in regional competition. Beth Kraft will also take part in the race. Kraft is in her sixth year of eligibility after missing two years of competition due to injury early in her collegiate career. Diana Henderson, Josianne Lauber and Janelle Vadnais will round out the top seven for NC State. Henderson and Vadnais both had top 15 performances at the Adidas Invitational, while Lauber, an experience post-season runner, will be making her season debut in the Great American Festival.
The No. 7 men's team will keep the same successful line-up from the Adidas Invitational, where it finished in first place. Devin Swann finished third in that race, followed closely by Ricky Brookshire. Nick Mangum, Kurtis Marlow and David Christian all finished in the top 10, while David Patterson and returning All-ACC runner Dean Bower finished in the top 20.
The men's race will begin at 6:35 p.m. on Friday, with the women's race to follow at 7:05 p.m. "B" team races will be held earlier in the day with the men taking the course at 4:45 p.m. and the women at 5:15 p.m. A complete line-up for the race is as follows:
"A" team women:
Megan Coombs, Renee Gunning, Diana Henderson, Josianne Lauber, Julia Lucas, Janelle Vadnais, Beth Kraft
"B" team women:
Becky Hoover, Leslie Jimison, Jennifer Modliszewski, Abigail Nelkie, Michelle Popple, Erin Swain, Ginger Wheeler
Unattached women:
Lucinda Hull, Claudine Hull, Kristina Roth, Amy Arnold, Jessica Durrant, Kelly Brown
"A" team men:
Dean Bowker, Ricky Brookshire, David Christian, Nick Mangum, Kurtis Marlowe, David Patterson, Devin Swann
"B" team men:
John Henderson, John Huber, Joseph Iatauro. Jesse Rhodenbaugh
Unattached men:
Allen Bader, Colin Cronin, Lance Hall, Matt Kassouf, Bryce Ruiz, Kevin Demir, Peter Ellis, Phillip Stafford
