Friday, October 30
Cary, N.C.
Men: 10 a.m.; Women: 11 a.m.
Wake Forest University
vs
ACC Cross Country Championships
Photo by: Sara D. Davis, the ACC
Wake Forest Men's Cross Country Earns Best ACC Finish Since 2001
10/30/2020 2:40:00 PM | Cross Country
The Demon Deacons finished third on the men's side, while the women finished 10th.
CARY, N.C. -- Four Demon Deacon men's runners earned All-ACC honors to lead the Wake Forest men's cross country program to a third-place finish, best since 2001, at the ACC Championship at WakeMed Soccer Park on Friday.
"Obviously we wanted to win, but I'm happy with third. This was a great all-around team effort," Director of Track & Field and Cross Country John Hayes said. "We had some guys really step up today and it was a very exciting race."
Wake Forest's women's program finished in 10th place.
On the men's side, the Deacs were led by Carter Coughlin, who surged throughout the race to finish in fifth place. He went from 34th place at the 2.1k split to 22nd at the 3.8k split to 10th at the 6.5k marker, leaping into fifth in the 8k race with a time of 23:24.8.
"We knew Carter had that in him," Hayes said. "He was hurt his whole freshman year, so last year he didn't have much running underneath him. We didn't know he'd be fifth, but we figured top 10 was realistic. He ran really smart and closed the gap nicely."
Making his season debut, Jonathan Velasco was in the top 15 from start to finish, earning All-ACC honors by crossing 12th in 23:31.7.
Ben Mitchell and Coen Roberts also garnered all-conference nods by finishing in the top 21. Mitchell was 19th in 23:38.9, while Roberts, making his collegiate debut, was right behind in 20th with a time of 23:39.3.
Jack Tiernan closed out the scoring for Wake Forest with a 31st-place finish in 23:52.9.
"Ben stepped up big-time in a spot we needed him to," Hayes added. "Coen ran his first collegiate race ever and that was huge for him. We knew he was capable of that but you don't know for sure until the race is over. We've talked a few times this year about somebody stepping up when someone else is struggling, and Ben and Coen did that. Without having camp this year, I didn't know if we were going to bond and mesh as well as we have, and the guys really did a great job. I couldn't be more proud."
The men's program continued its ascent up the ACC standings after finishing fifth the last two years, sixth in 2017, 13th in 2016 and 14th in 2015. Hayes took over right before the 2016 season started.
On the women's side, Madeline Rehm paced the Deacs with a 34th-place finish in the 6k, crossing in 20:58.7. She was in 59th at the first checkpoint, then leaped five spots at the next checkpoint and 10 spots after each of the final two checkpoints.
"As a team, we didn't run the race we were capable of today, which is always hard to swallow," women's head coach Ashley Bastron said. "We had a few women step up when others faded which was good to see, but collectively we were not at our best. The ACC is one of the deepest conferences in the country and it's unforgiving if you don't show up at your best. We'll learn from this and be back stronger in the spring."
Because the NCAA rescheduled the cross country championship to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a spring cross country season will begin in late January, with the national meet set for March.
Men's 8k Results
1. Notre Dame - 40
2. NC State - 54
3. Wake Forest - 86
4. Virginia - 92
5. Duke - 134
6. Syracuse - 135
7. North Carolina - 196
8. Virginia Tech - 222
9. Florida State - 225
10. Pitt - 282
11. Clemson - 335
12. Georgia Tech - 342
13. Louisville - 384
14. Boston College - 457
15. Miami - 472
Wake Forest Individuals
5. Carter Coughlin - 23:24.8
12. Jonathan Velasco - 23:31.7
19. Ben Mitchell - 23:38.9
20. Coen Roberts - 23:39.3
31. Jack Tiernan - 23:52.9
48. Luke Tewalt - 24:17.6
59. Brent Bailey - 24:22.7
67. Niall Ryan - 24:31.3
74. Anthony Grover - 24:36.5
111. John LePino - 25:46.8
Women's Results
1. NC State - 47
2. Georgia Tech - 99
3. Florida State - 109
4. Duke - 114
5. North Carolina - 116
6. Notre Dame - 116
7. Virginia - 205
8. Syracuse - 237
9. Boston College - 261
10. Wake Forest - 287
11. Virginia Tech - 292
12. Louisville - 303
13. Clemson - 320
14. Pitt - 406
15. Miami - 457
Wake Forest Individuals
34. Madeline Rehm - 20:58.7
64. Anna Campbell - 21:38.2
65. Meredith Helton - 21:39.4
68. Elise Wright - 21:42.3
77. Zoe Clay - 21:52.7
87. Hana Catsimanes - 22:07.2
100. Alli Boehm - 22:33.2
103. Caroline Garrett - 22:36.6
106. Spencer Faircloth - 22:46.3
114. Rylee Kopchak - 23:15.5
"Obviously we wanted to win, but I'm happy with third. This was a great all-around team effort," Director of Track & Field and Cross Country John Hayes said. "We had some guys really step up today and it was a very exciting race."
Wake Forest's women's program finished in 10th place.
On the men's side, the Deacs were led by Carter Coughlin, who surged throughout the race to finish in fifth place. He went from 34th place at the 2.1k split to 22nd at the 3.8k split to 10th at the 6.5k marker, leaping into fifth in the 8k race with a time of 23:24.8.
"We knew Carter had that in him," Hayes said. "He was hurt his whole freshman year, so last year he didn't have much running underneath him. We didn't know he'd be fifth, but we figured top 10 was realistic. He ran really smart and closed the gap nicely."
Making his season debut, Jonathan Velasco was in the top 15 from start to finish, earning All-ACC honors by crossing 12th in 23:31.7.
Ben Mitchell and Coen Roberts also garnered all-conference nods by finishing in the top 21. Mitchell was 19th in 23:38.9, while Roberts, making his collegiate debut, was right behind in 20th with a time of 23:39.3.
Jack Tiernan closed out the scoring for Wake Forest with a 31st-place finish in 23:52.9.
"Ben stepped up big-time in a spot we needed him to," Hayes added. "Coen ran his first collegiate race ever and that was huge for him. We knew he was capable of that but you don't know for sure until the race is over. We've talked a few times this year about somebody stepping up when someone else is struggling, and Ben and Coen did that. Without having camp this year, I didn't know if we were going to bond and mesh as well as we have, and the guys really did a great job. I couldn't be more proud."
The men's program continued its ascent up the ACC standings after finishing fifth the last two years, sixth in 2017, 13th in 2016 and 14th in 2015. Hayes took over right before the 2016 season started.
On the women's side, Madeline Rehm paced the Deacs with a 34th-place finish in the 6k, crossing in 20:58.7. She was in 59th at the first checkpoint, then leaped five spots at the next checkpoint and 10 spots after each of the final two checkpoints.
"As a team, we didn't run the race we were capable of today, which is always hard to swallow," women's head coach Ashley Bastron said. "We had a few women step up when others faded which was good to see, but collectively we were not at our best. The ACC is one of the deepest conferences in the country and it's unforgiving if you don't show up at your best. We'll learn from this and be back stronger in the spring."
Because the NCAA rescheduled the cross country championship to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a spring cross country season will begin in late January, with the national meet set for March.
Men's 8k Results
1. Notre Dame - 40
2. NC State - 54
3. Wake Forest - 86
4. Virginia - 92
5. Duke - 134
6. Syracuse - 135
7. North Carolina - 196
8. Virginia Tech - 222
9. Florida State - 225
10. Pitt - 282
11. Clemson - 335
12. Georgia Tech - 342
13. Louisville - 384
14. Boston College - 457
15. Miami - 472
Wake Forest Individuals
5. Carter Coughlin - 23:24.8
12. Jonathan Velasco - 23:31.7
19. Ben Mitchell - 23:38.9
20. Coen Roberts - 23:39.3
31. Jack Tiernan - 23:52.9
48. Luke Tewalt - 24:17.6
59. Brent Bailey - 24:22.7
67. Niall Ryan - 24:31.3
74. Anthony Grover - 24:36.5
111. John LePino - 25:46.8
Women's Results
1. NC State - 47
2. Georgia Tech - 99
3. Florida State - 109
4. Duke - 114
5. North Carolina - 116
6. Notre Dame - 116
7. Virginia - 205
8. Syracuse - 237
9. Boston College - 261
10. Wake Forest - 287
11. Virginia Tech - 292
12. Louisville - 303
13. Clemson - 320
14. Pitt - 406
15. Miami - 457
Wake Forest Individuals
34. Madeline Rehm - 20:58.7
64. Anna Campbell - 21:38.2
65. Meredith Helton - 21:39.4
68. Elise Wright - 21:42.3
77. Zoe Clay - 21:52.7
87. Hana Catsimanes - 22:07.2
100. Alli Boehm - 22:33.2
103. Caroline Garrett - 22:36.6
106. Spencer Faircloth - 22:46.3
114. Rylee Kopchak - 23:15.5
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
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