Conference Carolinas

Mount Olive & King Men's Cross Country Teams Qualify for Nationals; QUC's Timboni Qualifies as Individual on Women's Side

11/3/2012 12:00:00 AM

Mount Olive & King men's cross country teams qualified for the NCAA national championships along with Queens Mathilde Timboni as an individual on women's side.  See the below links for meet results and institutions press releases for more information.

2012 NCAA SE Regional MEN'S Results

2012 NCAA SE Regional Women's Results

courtesy of MOC Sports Information

Men’s Cross Country Earns Spot In NCAA II National Championship

November 03, 2012

Mount Olive earned a spot in the National Championship for the second consecutive year as the Trojans finished second out of 26 teams at the 2012 NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Southeast Regional. The nationally 35th-ranked Trojans advance to the 2012 NCAA II Men's Cross Country Championship November 17 at Joplin, Mo.

Freshman Dylan Lafond continued a stellar first season for the Trojans posting a time of 32:07.7 on the 10-kilometer course at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, N.C. He was one of four Trojans to break the 33-minute barrier. All seven runners finished in the top 42 in the 168-man field.

Lafond's efforts placed him seventh overall, 48 seconds off the pace of regional champion Pardon Ndhlovu of UNC-Pembroke. Lafond was within 10 seconds of fourth place.

Freshman Aki Kitagawa brought home 11th place with a time of 32:17.4; while senior Ronnie Sturgill will make a second trip to nationals after taking 12th in 32:19.3.

Another freshman, Mike Munoz gave the Trojans a third top-20 finisher, as his time of 32:48.6 was good enough for 20th. Seven of the top 20 individual finishers in the meet were freshmen. Three of them were Trojans.

Also scoring for Mount Olive were Stephen Greco in 27th (33:02.2), Erasmo Ordonez in 35th (33:20.0) and Jamar Davis in 42nd (33:30.8). Ordonez and Davis join Sturgill as returnees from last year's national championships.

As a team, Mount Olive finished with 42 points, just four points behind regional champion Columbus State and 37 points ahead of third-place King. Columbus State and King will join the Trojans at the National Championship.

courtesy of KC Sports Information

Men’s Cross Country Qualifies for Nationals, Women Finish Fourth at Regionals

For the first time in King Men’s Cross Country history, the Tornado qualified for national competition after finishing third at the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championships.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – King College Men’s Cross Country will be represented in national competition for the first time in the program’s history after qualifying for the NCAA Division II National Championship on Saturday. The Tornado, paced by Spencer Frantom and Jordan Noe, finished third overall as a team at the Southeast Regional Championships, hosted by Queens (N.C.) at McAlpine Creek Park. The Lady Tornado narrowly missed out on qualifying for Nationals, finishing a respectable fourth place on the women’s side.

Morristown, Tenn. natives Spencer Frantom and Jordan Noe packed a 1-2 punch at the top of the Tornado lineup, finishing second and third respectively pacing King. The two flipped roles after the Conference Carolinas Championships with Frantom being the first Tornado harrier to cross the finish line. The junior finished second overall with a time of 31:50.6. Noe (31:56.3) came in third place overall just six seconds off his teammate’s pace.

Both runners improved from their 10k times at last year’s regional competition. Frantom improved from last year’s time by 40 seconds and 11 positions after a 13^th place finish in 2011. Noe improved upon last season’s regional time by 31 seconds. The twosome finished together last year as well, completing the course 13^th and 14^th.

Anchoring the middle of the Tornado lineup, sophomore Dickson Kurgat (Naidi Hills, Kenya) ran a solid 32:35.7, good for 15^th overall in the field of 168 runners. Jordan Smith (Lebanon, Va.) finished in 32^nd place, clocking in at 33:13.7. Closing out the King running order was freshman Garrett Watts (Bristol, Va./John Battle H.S.) with a 33:27.2 time and a 39^th place finish.

“The men simply wanted it more than anybody out there,” said Head Coach Peter Dalton. “They ran like national qualifiers and they deserve to advance. Spencer [Frantom] and Jordan [Noe] ran exceptional today. Dickson [Kurgat] ran a really solid race. Top to bottom, they all did very well.”

The men’s team finished third overall with a total of 91 points and automatically qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships, held in Joplin, Mo. on Nov. 17. This marks the first time in the program’s history that King will advance to the National Championships.

“We’re incredibly excited for the opportunity to go the Nationals,” said Dalton. “The men have been working really hard all year long for this and it is well deserved.”

With their individual finishes Noe, Frantom, and Kurgat all earn a place on the All-Region Team. The top-25 finishers on both sides are awarded the honor. This marks the second time both Noe and Frantom were named to the All-Region Team and Kurgat’s first such award.

They will join Mount Olive College as the second Conference Carolinas school to represent the Southeast Region at the NCAA Division II National Championships. Columbus State finished first as a team, edging out the Trojans (63) by 14 points to finish atop the region. UNC-Pembroke’s Pardon Ndhlovu was the top individual finisher with a 31:19.2 run.

The women’s team ran hard and finished as the top Conference Carolinas school in the 27-team field. The Lady Tornado finished fourth overall with 156 points and were led by junior Kendra Sokol (Kingsport, Tenn./Dobyns-Bennett H.S.).

Sokol was the first Lady Tornado runner to cross the finish line, placing sixth overall in the field of 182. She completed the 6k course in 23:05.3 and was the second runner from the conference to cross the finish line. Sokol narrowly missed out on qualifying for Nationals as an individual. She was 10 second of the place of third place finisher, Liva Mahaffie (UNC-Pembroke), for the qualifying spot. The top three race finishers automatically qualify for national competition.

Junior Eliza Parker (Oswego, N.Y.) was the next harrier to cross the finish line for King, placing 28^th with a time of 23:49.8. Danielle Beauvais (Winchester, Va.), Evan Ferrell (Richlands, Va.), and Tabitha Arwood (Lebanon, Va.) closed out the King starting five, in that order.

In her final meet as a Tornado, senior Danielle Beauvais finished 39^th overall with a 24:02.3. Ferrell (24:22.5) and Arwood (24:24.1) finished together in 49^th and 50^th, respectively.

By placing fourth as a team, King will not advance to national competition and their season comes to a close.

“They gave it everything they had,” said Dalton. “It just was not their day. It was a great effort on their part that just came up a bit short. Still, it has been a great season for the ladies.”

By finishing sixth overall, Sokol also earned a spot on the All-Region Team, making for a total of four King Tornado runners to be given the honor. This is the second time in her career Sokol was named All-Region.

Columbus State also won the women’s side of the regional meet with 87 points while Clayton State and UNC-Pembroke finished second and third, in that order. King finished two spots ahead of fellow Conference Carolinas school, Mount Olive (216). Montevallo’s Kaley Glover won the meet as an individual with a 22:40.4 finish time.

Click here for complete information regarding the NCAA Division II National Championships. The championships will be held on Nov. 17 in Joplin, Mo. and hosted by Missouri Southern State University.