North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Runners Help Team USA To Victory
1/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
EDINBURGH, Scotland - Andrew Colley and Ryen Frazier had top-10 finishes in their races to help Team USA win the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 10. Mary Grace Doggett also had a strong showing against world-class competition from Team Great Britain and Team Europe.
Team USA
Love this!! Thanks for the pic, Jeff! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
MT @jeffholmes24: #TeamUSA wins #GEXC2015 #usatf pic.twitter.com/1hDfjWEjDY
-- USATF (@usatf) January 10, 2015
In this competition, lower scores were better and Team USA dominated the races against Great Britain and Europe to win with 121 points. Great Britain finished with 189 and Europe followed with 223.
Each team's top four finishes in each race determined their score. Team USA's senior men, junior men and junior women's team placed first while the senior women finished second. The junior men had the best score after scoring four athletes in the top-five.
Adverse Conditions
Weather has taken a bit of a miserable turn. Sleet, hail, mud, snow...all in the final lap. Welcome to XC, folks! #GEXC2015
-- USATF (@usatf) January 10, 2015
In addition to battling each other, the athletes also faced a strong challenge from the course and Mother Nature. After a day of wintery precipitation on Friday, the course provided tough conditions for the athletes. The hills and slick surfaces caused several runners to slip during competition. During the final race, different forms of precipitation fell from the sky including snow, sleet and hail. Wolfpack Highlights
Junior Women's Race
Four Americans finished in the top 10 of the junior women's race including Wolfpack cross country commit Frazier. Her time of 15:22 was good for a sixth place finish in the 6k race. NC State freshman Doggett also competed in the event, finishing just one minute behind Frazier with a time of 16:22.
Senior Men's Race
mens 8km, close race #GEXC2015 @Great_Run #GreatWinterRun pic.twitter.com/eepxr1OFJy
-- jeff holmes (@jeffholmes24) January 10, 2015
In his first time competing at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country Challenge, Colley excelled on the challenging course by finishing in 25:42 for sixth place in the 8k race. Colley got off to a quick start as he led the race for a brief period of time. Halfway through, Colley was in second place just behind Britain's Charlie Hulson. However, it was back-to-back winner and Team USA Captain Chris Derrick who would distance himself during the final lap to win.
NC State volunteer assistant coach Bobby Mack was slated to compete in the race but was forced to pull out due to a nagging injury. This is the fourth straight year he has been chosen to compete for Team USA. Mack hopes to come back and represent USA next year. He won the event in 2013 and finished as runner up in 2012.
Up Next: Doggett will return to NC State to begin indoor track season while Frazier will go back to Ravenscroft High School in Raleigh, N.C., for the final semester of her senior year. Colley and Mack will continue their professional running careers.
