Clemmons, N.C. - The William and Mary men's cross country team, ranked 17th nationally, used a total-team-effort Saturday afternoon to upset #13-ranked Virginia at the Southeast Region Championship, winning the region title by a single point, 66-67. With the win, the Tribe clinched an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships, where it will be one of just five schools to make every national meet since 1997. The team title was the ninth regional or district crown in school history, and first since 2005.
Liberty's Samuel Chelanga won the individual crown in 29:53.4, but William and Mary was the only team that placed five runners on the all-region squad, which includes the top-25 finishers. Sophomore Jon Grey (Lancaster, Pa.) led the way for the Green and Gold, finishing sixth in 30:28.2 for his second career all-region award (Grey was All-Midwest for Oklahoma last year). Junior Colin Leak (Chadds Ford, Pa.) also finished in the top-10, crossing the line in 30:39.4 for ninth place and his first All-Southeast honor. Sophomore Patterson Wilhelm (Lynchburg, Va.) was 13th in 31:00.8, and junior Ben Massam (Chatham, N.J.) was 16th in 31:06.9 as both repeated on the all-region team for the second year in a row, and sophomore Lewis Woodard (Charlotte, N.C.), who had an outstanding first season in-uniform for the Tribe, finished 22nd in 31:22.9. This was the third year in the past four that the College placed five athletes in the top-25 at the regional championships.
Also running for the Green and Gold, sophomores Charlie Swartz (Manassas, Va.) and Harry Miller (Portland, Ore.) crossed the line in 32:49.2 and 33:29.7, respectively.
Next weekend, W&M will travel to its last two meets of the season looking to defend its place as one of the elite programs both on the East Coast and across the nation as a whole. Saturday (November 22), the squad's down-the-line runners will travel to Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, New York for the 100th running of the IC4A Championships. Meanwhile, the top eight athletes will head to Terre Haute, Indiana for the 70th NCAA Cross Country Championships, which will be run Monday morning, November 24.
2008 NCAA Southeast Region Championships – 10K
Tanglewood Park
Top Five Teams
1. #17 WILLIAM AND MARY 66
2. #13 Virginia 67
3. #18 N.C. State 111
4. Duke 146
5. Liberty 156
Top Five Individuals
1 Samuel Chelanga (LIB) 29:53.4
2 Bobby Mack (NCSU) 30:17.8
3 Emil Heineking (UVA) 30:21.8
4 Ryan Foster (UVA) 30:24.8
5 Adam Henken (KEN) 30:26.7
Women's Recap (Virginia win):
CLEMMONS, N.C. – First-year head coach Jason Vigilante led Virginia’s men’s and women’s cross country teams to automatic berths into the 2008 NCAA Championships on Saturday morning at the NCAA Southeast Regional at Tanglewood State Park. The women won the Southeast Region title, outdistancing second-place Kentucky, 105-126, while the men matched their best outing, finishing runner-up to instate rival William & Mary, 66-67.
Seven Cavaliers earned All-Southeast Region honors on the day, as Virginia advanced both its men’s and women’s teams to the national championships for just the third time in the same season. It also marks the first time that both teams have advanced together by automatic qualification.
“Performances wise, we had a banner day for our program today,” Vigilante said. “We came within one point of both our men and women both winning a regional championship. But most importantly, it demonstrated how well our team has come together and I’m very proud of our young ladies and young men in how they represented themselves and the university.
“It’s not often you have an opportunity to win, especially at this level with so many teams competing. Being new to Virginia, I’m not sure the last time we accomplished this feat, but it was certainly a great feeling today.”
The women followed up an impressive run at the ACC Championships with a dominating performance this morning. Led by all-region performers fourth-year Lauretta Dezubay, first-year Morgane Gay and second-year Stephanie Garcia, the trio each placed in the top-10 of the 6k race to lead Virginia to a 105-126 victory over Kentucky.
Dezubay finished sixth in 21:00.6 to head the group, while Gay crossed immediately after her teammate, and as the first freshman across the line, claiming seventh in 21:02.7. Garcia finished ninth in 21:14.9 to earn her second all-region distinction, while third-year Samantha Stafford narrowly missed the honor, finishing 28th in 21:50.5. Third-year Susan Brooks rounded out the scoring Cavaliers, placing 55th in 22:20.1.
“The women certainly know that the way they’ve come together and stepped up and competed together is superb”, Vigilante said. “They’re extremely proud of themselves for their accomplishments today.”
The men entered the race as the top-ranked team in the region, but were narrowly upset by William & Mary, 66-67. Led by second-year Emil Heineking and sixth-year Ryan Foster, the Cavalier men placed three in the top-10 of the 10k race, with four earning all-region honors.
Heineking was the first Cavalier across the line, finishing third in 30:21.8, to earn his second-consecutive all-region honor. Foster, the 2008 ACC Champion, finished fourth in 30:24.8 to earn his fourth All-Southeast Region distinction, while first-year Ryan Collins was the first freshman to cross the line, placing 10th in 30:40.8 to earn regional honors.
Second-year Graham Tribble rounded out the Cavaliers with all-region performances in his first competition at the meet, completing the course in 31:13.1 to take 19th, while third-year Andrew Jesien rounded out the scoring Cavaliers, finishing 31st in 31:39.2.
“Obviously, nobody likes to lose, especially by such a narrow margin,” Vigilante said. “But, we are pleased that we’ve qualified for the national championships and look forward to the opportunity to compete against the nations best in the coming days.”
Virginia will conclude it’s season on Monday, Nov. 24 at the NCAA Championships. The national meet is set to take place in Terre Haute, Ind., with the women’s 6k race taking off at 12:08 p.m. and the men’s 10k race following at 12:48 p.m. Both races will be broadcast live on CBS College Sports.
