Wake Forest Athletics
Deacs Set to Race in ACC Championships Saturday
10/26/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 26, 2012
By Maggie Cancelosi, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@SIDeacons)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Blacksburg, Va., to compete in the 2012 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on Saturday morning. Hosted by Virginia Tech, both races will take place on the cross country course at Smithfield Plantation, with the women's 6k race to begin at 10:00 a.m. and the men's 8k race to follow at 10:50 a.m.
An experienced pack of Deacs looks to pace the men's squad on Saturday, led by seniors Garret Drogosch and Nate Guthals, in which the two have finished either first or second on the team in all the three meets this season.
Drogosch's season-best 8k time of 24:31.69 came at the Charlotte Invitational earlier this season, finishing sixth overall. The Westlake Village, Calif. native also turned in a season-best fourth place overall finish at the Blue Ridge Open on Oct. 12.
At last year's ACC Championships, Drogosch was the first finisher for the Deacs, as he crossed the finish line in a personal-best 8k time of 23:59.9, good for 18th place overall.
Guthals turned in a season-best performance at the Blue Ridge Open finishing second overall and first for the Deacs with a mark of 24:39.65. The Littleton, Colo. native placed 73rd at last year's ACC Championships in 25:20.8.
Along with Drogosch and Guthals, fellow seniors Tom Finneran, Jake Graham and Anthony Marois look to make significant contributions to the Deacs' scoring totals. The three have all recorded personal-best marks this season, with Finneran (24:56.87) and Graham (25:02.06) at the Blue Ridge Open and Marois (25:13:08) at the Charlotte Invitational.
The Demon Deacon men will go up against a number of nationally ranked opponents, including No. 14 Florida State, followed by Duke in 18th and Virginia Tech 21st. Wake Forest has won four men's ACC cross country team titles in program history, including back-to-back crowns in 1989 and 1990 and again in 1993 and 1994.
At last season's ACC Championships, Wake Forest claimed seventh place in the overall team standings with a total of 212 points. N.C. State won the team title on the men's side with a total of 51 points, while Florida State claimed their fifth consecutive title on the women's side, amassing a total of 20 points.
On the women's side, Nicole Irving is heading into the Championships after earning an invitational at the Blue Ridge Open with a time 17:28.64. The junior from Ballston Lake, N.Y., has finished first for the Deacs in all three meets this season.
At last year's event, Irving completed the 6k course in a personal-best time of 20:38.1.
Along with Irving, freshman Ashley Brubaker has raced extremely well for the Deacs this season, finishing second on the team in two out of the past three races. Brubaker turned in a personal-best time of 18:30.38 earlier in the season at the Blue Ridge Open 5k.
The Deacs also look to freshmen Meredith Kilburn and Kathleen Darling, who finished third and fourth for the squad, respectively, at the Blue Ridge Open.
The Demon Deacon women will race against three schools ranked in the top 30 of the weekly USTFCCCA poll. For the second-straight year, Florida State enters the ACC Championships as the nation's top-ranked team. The Seminoles are followed by Duke 11th and Boston College 26th.
Following the ACC Championships Saturday, the Deacs compete in the NCAA Southeast Regional in Charlotte, N.C. on Nov. 9
Players Mentioned
