Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Blue Ridge Open
Irving Captures Individual Title at Blue Ridge Open
10/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 14, 2011
BOONE, N.C. - Wake Forest sophomore Nicole Irving captured her second individual title in as many races this season at Appalachian State's cross country course, as she finished in a time of 17:43.4 to win the Blue Ridge Open on Friday afternoon at ASU's State Farm Fields.
Irving also won the Covered Bridge Open in Boone earlier this season in a time of 18:23.8.
The Demon Deacon women finished second overall out of 21 teams with 77 points, and Furman claimed first place with a total of 56 points.
Fellow sophomore Melanie Powers also had a strong outing, finishing sixth overall in a time of 18:17.2 on the 5k course. Powers previously ran a time of 18:52.4 at the Covered Bridge Open earlier in the season.
Next across the line for the Deacs was junior Allison Homer, as she claimed 11th place in 18:30.6, a time just nine seconds shy of her season-best mark.
Freshman Kaitlyn Oliver finished fourth on the team, her highest finish of the season thus far, and 31st overall in 19:06.5. Oliver shaved over an entire minute off her previous time run on the course earlier in the season.
Casey Fowler finished next for the Deacs in a time of 19:15.9, good for 40th overall. Freshman Aubrey Waggoner was next in 55th place with a time of 19:29.8.
Rounding out the scoring totals for Wake Forest was freshman Madeline DiNardo, as she crossed the finish line in a time of 20:58.4 in her collegiate debut.
On the men's side, junior Garret Drogosch continued to show his leadership as the frontrunner for the Deacs this season, finishing fourth overall on the 8k course in 24:54.5.
As a team, the Deacs captured second place out of 23 squads with a total of 57 points. George Mason claimed the team title with 40 points.
Sophomore Alexander Rose finished second on the team and eighth overall in one of his top performances of the season. Rose's time of 25:26.3 was his third-best time this year.
Senior Tom Morrison also jumped out to run in the front of the pack for the Deacs, and his efforts earned him a 13th-place finish in a time of 25:30.6.
Junior Tom Finneran was the next Deacon across the finish line, claiming 18th place in 25:37.4. Fellow junior Anthony Marois followed close behind in 25:49.9, good for 29th place.
Directly behind Marois was junior Nate Guthals in 30th place (25:52.2), and freshman Jake Dearmon finished 46th in a personal-best time of 26:10.9. Dearmon shaved nearly 30 seconds off his previous personal-best mark.
Rounding out the scoring totals on the men's squad were Jake Graham in 49th place (26:13.4), Paul Loeser in 59th place (26:26.8), and freshman Connor Crowley in 70th place (26:36.8).
Friday's race marked the last meet of the regular season for the Deacs, as they will begin post-season action on Oct. 29 with the ACC Championships in Clemson, S.C.
Players Mentioned
