Friday, November 1
Blacksburg, Va.
Wake Forest University
vs
ACC Championship
Photo by: Sara D. Davis, the ACC
Cross Country Teams Take 5th, 6th at ACC Championship
11/1/2019 3:11:00 PM | Cross Country
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest men's and women's cross country teams captured fifth and sixth place, respectively, on Friday at the ACC Championships held at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. The men's team scored 116 points over the 8K course to tie their best finish since 2005, while the women's team scored 158 points over 6K and had their second best showing since 2008.
"Both races went well," said director of cross country John Hayes. "We fought hard on a challenging course all the way to the end, and I think we can run even better at the NCAA Regional in two weeks. The team is excited and is starting to see that we belong in the mix."
The men were just 16 points out of third place, following four nationally ranked teams (#28 Syracuse, #20 Notre Dame, #26 Virginia Tech, and #23 Virginia) and beating two others (#23 NC State and #21 Florida State).
Sophomore Zach Facioni took fourth place in a time of 24:32.5, earning All-ACC honors for the second year in a row. He was followed by team captain Jack Tiernan who finished eighth in 24:36.5, improving on his 63rd place finish at the 2018 meet to bring home his first All-ACC accolades. Other scorers for the team included freshman Carter Coughlin (24th in 25:01.6), sophomore Brent Bailey (34th in 25:14.1), and junior John LePino (46th in 25:23.0). It was the second race of Coughlin's collegiate career (just missing All-ACC honors), while Bailey and LePino were competing in just the third 8K of their careers.
On the women's side, sophomore Elise Wright took 14th to lead Wake Forest with a 21:12.4 clocking, improving on her 41st place finish at the 2018 meet, while senior Samantha Halvorsen finished 19th in 21:20.6 – both taking home All-ACC honors. They were followed by senior Hannah Brookover who finished 42nd in 21:53.6 and sophomore Georgia Evans in 43rd place in 21:56.1. Rounding out the top five was sophomore Meredith Helton in 46th place at 21:58.7.
The women were in a tight battle, finishing just 12 points out of 4th place and following four nationally ranked teams (#6 NC State, #10 Florida State, #17 Notre Dame, and #22 Virginia Tech). They were just 4 points behind fifth place finisher Syracuse, who they beat at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Wisconsin two weeks ago.
"I'm really proud of the women's performance today," said women's distance coach Ashley Botham. "They bounced back from our race in Wisconsin and fought hard for every place. The depth in the ACC is very strong, but the women didn't let that intimidate them. They have confidence in themselves and confidence in each other. I'm very excited to see what they accomplish in two weeks at regionals."
While the ACC Championship is the culmination of the season in many sports, it marks the beginning of the post season for the Demon Deacon cross country teams. The Deacs travel to Charlottesville, Va. on Nov. 15 for the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships. The top two teams from nine regions will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 23, with another 13 teams chosen as at-large selections. Less than 10% of the 300+ Division I cross country teams qualify for the NCAA championships each year.
"Our expectation on both sides is to make nationals in two weeks," said Hayes. "It's a reasonable goal, and we're excited to show what we can do."
Men's Finishers
4, Zach Facioni, 24:32.5
8, Jack Tiernan, 24:36.5
24, Carter Coughlin, 25:01.6
34, Brent Bailey, 25:14.1
46, John LePino, 25:23.0
49, Aaron Las Heras, 25:24.6
64, Jonathan Velasco 25:37.6
78, Ben Mitchell, 26:00.6
84, Michael Moerk, 26:09.0
88, Joaquin Martinez De Pinillos, 26:14.7
Women's Finishers
14, Elise Wright, 21:12.4
19, Samantha Halvorsen, 21:20.6
40, Hannah Brookover, 21:53.6
41, Georgia Evans, 21:56.1
44, Meredith Helton, 21:58.7
62, Madeline Rehm, 22:15.1
65, Amy Harding-Delooze, 22:20.7
69, Isabelle Dutranoit, 22:28.0
102, Anna Campbell, 23:04.1
125, Spencer Faircloth, 24:17.0
"Both races went well," said director of cross country John Hayes. "We fought hard on a challenging course all the way to the end, and I think we can run even better at the NCAA Regional in two weeks. The team is excited and is starting to see that we belong in the mix."
The men were just 16 points out of third place, following four nationally ranked teams (#28 Syracuse, #20 Notre Dame, #26 Virginia Tech, and #23 Virginia) and beating two others (#23 NC State and #21 Florida State).
Sophomore Zach Facioni took fourth place in a time of 24:32.5, earning All-ACC honors for the second year in a row. He was followed by team captain Jack Tiernan who finished eighth in 24:36.5, improving on his 63rd place finish at the 2018 meet to bring home his first All-ACC accolades. Other scorers for the team included freshman Carter Coughlin (24th in 25:01.6), sophomore Brent Bailey (34th in 25:14.1), and junior John LePino (46th in 25:23.0). It was the second race of Coughlin's collegiate career (just missing All-ACC honors), while Bailey and LePino were competing in just the third 8K of their careers.
On the women's side, sophomore Elise Wright took 14th to lead Wake Forest with a 21:12.4 clocking, improving on her 41st place finish at the 2018 meet, while senior Samantha Halvorsen finished 19th in 21:20.6 – both taking home All-ACC honors. They were followed by senior Hannah Brookover who finished 42nd in 21:53.6 and sophomore Georgia Evans in 43rd place in 21:56.1. Rounding out the top five was sophomore Meredith Helton in 46th place at 21:58.7.
The women were in a tight battle, finishing just 12 points out of 4th place and following four nationally ranked teams (#6 NC State, #10 Florida State, #17 Notre Dame, and #22 Virginia Tech). They were just 4 points behind fifth place finisher Syracuse, who they beat at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Wisconsin two weeks ago.
"I'm really proud of the women's performance today," said women's distance coach Ashley Botham. "They bounced back from our race in Wisconsin and fought hard for every place. The depth in the ACC is very strong, but the women didn't let that intimidate them. They have confidence in themselves and confidence in each other. I'm very excited to see what they accomplish in two weeks at regionals."
While the ACC Championship is the culmination of the season in many sports, it marks the beginning of the post season for the Demon Deacon cross country teams. The Deacs travel to Charlottesville, Va. on Nov. 15 for the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships. The top two teams from nine regions will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 23, with another 13 teams chosen as at-large selections. Less than 10% of the 300+ Division I cross country teams qualify for the NCAA championships each year.
"Our expectation on both sides is to make nationals in two weeks," said Hayes. "It's a reasonable goal, and we're excited to show what we can do."
Men's Finishers
4, Zach Facioni, 24:32.5
8, Jack Tiernan, 24:36.5
24, Carter Coughlin, 25:01.6
34, Brent Bailey, 25:14.1
46, John LePino, 25:23.0
49, Aaron Las Heras, 25:24.6
64, Jonathan Velasco 25:37.6
78, Ben Mitchell, 26:00.6
84, Michael Moerk, 26:09.0
88, Joaquin Martinez De Pinillos, 26:14.7
Women's Finishers
14, Elise Wright, 21:12.4
19, Samantha Halvorsen, 21:20.6
40, Hannah Brookover, 21:53.6
41, Georgia Evans, 21:56.1
44, Meredith Helton, 21:58.7
62, Madeline Rehm, 22:15.1
65, Amy Harding-Delooze, 22:20.7
69, Isabelle Dutranoit, 22:28.0
102, Anna Campbell, 23:04.1
125, Spencer Faircloth, 24:17.0
Players Mentioned
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