King & Mount Olive Men Place at NCAA Cross Country Nationals; Timboni Represents as Individual for Queens' Women

11/21/2012 12:00:00 AM

 

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-courtesy of King Sports Information

November 17, 2012

JOPLIN, Mo. – In their first appearance at the NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Championships, Spencer Frantom and the King Tornado finished 27^th overall as a team. Spencer Frantom led the men with a 43^rd place individual finish at the Robert W. Plaster Sports Complex, home of Missouri Southern State University. Six out of seven King runners set new 10k personal bests in the event.

Spencer Frantom, a native of Morristown, Tenn., was the first King harrier to cross the finish line in Saturday morning's 10,000-meter championship race. The junior completed the course in 30:31.3 to finish 43 overall in a field of 245 runners.

At the halfway point, Frantom was in 58^th position after finishing 5,000 meters in 14:53, 30 seconds off the pace of the leader at that point. He improved by 15 positions with a 15:37.8 time in the second leg of the race.

Frantom bettered his most previous 10k time from the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship by more than one minute. The all-region selection shaved off 1:19.3 from his second place finish from the regional championships two weeks ago.

Despite such a strong performance, Frantom narrowly missed out from being named a NCAA All-American by three positions and just six seconds. The top-40 finishers at the national meet are awarded All-American honors. With his much improved 10k time, Frantom finished just 17 seconds behind the Southeast Regional champion, Pardon Ndhlovu (UNC-Pembroke), who placed 32^nd overall as an individual (30:14.2).

The second half of the Morristown, Tenn. duo, Jordan Noe, put together another strong 10k performance. The sophomore also shortened his previous 10,000-meter time by nearly 20 seconds from the regional championship meet on Nov. 3. Noe finished 111^th overall with a finish time of 31:37.5. He finished the first 5,000 meters in 15:15.4, almost a full minute better than his 5k victory at the Pre-Conference Championship meet time, where the all-region honoree was 81^st at the halfway point.

Sophomores Dickson Kurgat (Naidi Hills, Kenya) and Jordan Smith (Lebanon, Tenn.) each finished in the top 200. Kurgat, an all-conference selection, matched his performance from the regional championship and placed 187^th overall with a finish time of 32:36.5. Smith was just five spots behind his teammate and posted a strong final 5,000 meters (16:55.2), improving 18 spots to finish 192^nd. He completed the 10k course in 32:45.1.

Both King freshmen set new personal bests in the 10k as Brent Swiney (Bristol, Va./John Battle H.S.) and Garrett Watts (Fort Blackmore, Va.) finished inside 34 minutes. Watts bettered his previous 10k time by six seconds, finishing 222^nd in 33:21.9. Swiney finished six seconds behind his teammate (33:27.8) in 226^th position but improved upon his last 10k time by 30 seconds for a new personal best.

Taylor Dix also ran for the Tornado and set a new personal best, breaking the 34-minute barrier. He finished 232^nd with 33:54.7.

Of the 32 teams that competed in the Division II Men's Cross Country Championship, King placed 27^th overall with 664 team points. The team's average finish time was 32:10.5.

King finished in front of Conference Carolinas champion Mount Olive (28^th) by 23 points and an average finish time five seconds better than the Trojans. Southeast Regional champion Columbus State finished 24^th overall with 606 team points.

"I am really proud of the team's performance today and all season long," said Head Coach Peter Dalton. "They really worked hard from start to finish and everybody gave everything they had. I think they have been rewarded well for their efforts."

Six of King's seven runners set new 10k personal records with Dickson Kurgat just missing his personal best set two weeks ago by one second.

"I am really impressed with how each person came out and did today," said Dalton of his team setting a host of new PRs. "They have done it all season long but doing it on a big stage such as this is a real feat."

Adams State (34) won the team overall championship, placing runners in second, third, and fourth place to pace the team. Micah Chelimo of Alaska-Anchorage won the individual championship, clocking in a 28:56.6 performance.

Though the season concludes, the men's cross country team may reflect on many successes from the 2012 season. King steadily improved over the course of the season in an array of 5-, 8-, and 10k events. Beginning with the UNC-Charlotte Invitational (Sept. 28) where two harriers clinched new personal bests. Two weeks later, King enjoyed a team victory at the Pre-Conference Meet on Oct. 5 where Noe took the individual victory. Noe continued his success with his second individual victory and was named Conference Carolinas Runner of the Year at the conference championships, helping the Tornado to a second place finish. After Spencer Frantom and Noe finished second and third, in that order, King placed third at the regional championship to advance to Nationals for the first time in program history.

"I am very optimistic for our team going into the 2013 season," said Dalton. "We return our entire team returns next year since we do not graduate anybody and we will only have two seniors. I think a top-15 finish at the national level is a very realistic possibility."

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-courtesy of Mount Olive Sports Information

Mount Olive Places 28th In NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships

Mount Olive placed 28th out of 32 teams Saturday morning in the NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Championships at Joplin, Mo. Freshman Dylan Lafond was the top finisher for the Trojans, garnering 93rd place with a time of 31:25.4. There were 245 runners in the 10-kilometer competition at Missouri Southern State University.

Related Story: Division II Cross Country Coaches Raise $30,000 For Joplin Tornado Relief

Lafond was joined by fellow freshman Aki Kitagawa in the top half of the field. Kitagawa placed 109th in 31:37.0. Lafond's final position is a new school record at the national level and his time topped the school's 10k mark of 32:07.7 set at the Southeast Regional meet in Charlotte two weeks ago.

Senior Ronnie Sturgill brought home 180th overall with a mark of 32:28.9; while Mike Munoz was 197th in 32:47.1; Erasmo Ordonez 206th in 33:01.02; Steven Greco 210th in 33:04.9; and Jamar Davis in 242nd in 35:35.2. Sturgill, Davis and Ordonez made their second trip to the nationals.

Adams State defended its national title with just 34 points. All of its scorers finished in the top 14 to garner its fifth title in six years. Colorado Mines was second with 104.

Micah Chelimo of Alaska-Anchorage won the individual competition in 28:56.6.

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-courtesy of Queens Sports Information

Timboni races at NCAA Cross Country Championships

JOPLIN, Mo.- Queens University of Charlotte junior runner Mathilde Timboni (Prévessin-Möens, France, Lycée International de Terney-Voltaire) ran in the NCAA DII Women's Cross Country Championship this afternoon hosted by Missouri Southern State.

Timboni finished in 180th place after racing in at 23:04.5. Her time was an improvement from last year's national championship when she finished in 24:18.9. Timboni advanced to the championship after placing fifth in the NCAA Southeast Regional hosted by the Royals. 

 

Alicia Nelson of Adams State took first place individually with a time of 20:03.3, while Grand Valley State took the team title after collecting 101 points. Augustana, the defending champions, collected 105 points for second place.