UNCG women fourth, men 10th at Blue Ridge Open meet

BOONE, NC – On the strength of four Top 25 finishes, UNC Greensboro’s women’s cross country team finished fourth, while its men finished 10th at the Blue Ridge Open on Friday evening.

Jess Weber finished 16th, Heidi Pinkerton 20th and Stephanie Maltais 25th to lead the UNCG women. Weber’s time of 19:22.4 was a season best for her, as was Pinkerton’s time of 19:28.0. Maltais’ time of 19:45.2 was a personal best. In addition, Mary Ann Rutz’s time of 20:24.7, good for 45th place, was also a season best.

On the men’s side, Charles Gibson finished in 42nd place with a time of 26:55.0 to lead UNCG.

“The women really came together and had an outstanding meet with several running season and lifetime best performances,” said UNCG cross country coach Rachelle Roberts. “Hopefully this will set us up for a solid showing at the SoCon Championships in two weeks.

“It was a tough meet for the men but they will be ready to race in two weeks when it counts,” said Roberts.

Texas won the men’s race with eight of its runners among the first nine collegiates to cross the finish link. Davidson won the women’s race.

UNCG will next run on October 30 at the Southern Conference Championships in Statesboro, GA.

AGATE

MEN’S TEAM SCORES: Texas 15, Appalachian State 86, North Carolina 90, High Point 125, Mars Hill 132, Davidson 179, Western Carolina 208, Elon 214, Gardner Webb 242, UNCG 247, UNC Wilmington 291, King 352.

UNCG RUNNERS: 42. Charles Gibson 26:55.0; 49. Nick Vaccaro 27:08.7; 65. Josh Wyatt 27:31.7; 71. Keith Gruchacz 28:07.4; 79. Ryan Rodd 28:38.0;

WOMEN’S TEAM SCORES: Davidson 38, Appalachian State 70, High Point 104, UNCG 140, UNC Wilmington 144, Elon 154, South Carolina 158, Mars Hill 205, Gardner Webb 228, Western Carolina 236, King 280

UNCG RUNNERS: 16. Jess Weber 19:22.4; 20. Heidi Pinkerton 19:28.0; 25. Stephanie Maltais 19:45.2; 45. Mary Ann Rutz 20:24.7; 52. Naomi D'Amours 20:31.4; 63. Erin Lord 20:49.3; 103. Tessa Dispennette 22:25.3.

–UNCG –