Nicole Irving looks to pace Wake Forest for the second consecutive meet
Junior Tom Finneran finished second among Wake Forest runners at the Covered Bridge Open
Sept. 15, 2011
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -
The Wake Forest cross country teams will return to racing action on Friday as they travel to Seneca, S.C. for the Clemson Invitational. The race will be held at the Musser Farms Fruit Research Center.
The women's 6k race is set to begin at 6:15 p.m., with the men's 8k race following directly afterwards at 6:45 p.m.
Along with Wake Forest, schools competing in the race include Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Anderson (S.C.), Chattahoochee Tech, Converse, Davidson, Erskine, Furman, King College, and USC Upstate.
Full team and individual results will be available Friday at www.flashresults.com following the conclusion of both races.
Last Time Out
The women's squad dominated in the Covered Bridge Open on Sept. 3 in Boone, NC, finishing second out of 12 teams with a total of 74 points.
Sophomore Nicole Irving captured the individual title at the meet for the second consecutive season with a 5k time of 18:23.8. Irving's time placed her a full 17 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
Also finishing in the top-ten for the Deacs was junior Allison Homer (fifth place) and sophomore Melanie Powers (seventh). Just like Irving, Powers also raced well as a freshman at last year's Covered Bridge Open, and her time of 18:52.4 this season was the second-best mark of her career.
Irving Named ACC Performer of the Week
For her efforts at the Covered Bridge Open, Nicole Irving was named the ACC Cross Country Performer of the Week for the week of Sept. 7. It marked the first time of her career that the Ballston Lake, N.Y. native earned the award.
Freshmen Make Early Impact
Freshmen Aubrey Waggoner, Kaitlyn Oliver, and Natalie Sukramani are already showing signs of immediate contribution on the women's side, as the trio all raced at the Covered Bridge Open.
Waggoner led the way with a 16th-place finish in her collegiate debut, covering the 5k course in 19:20.2. The West Hartford, Conn. native was one of only two freshmen to finish in the top-20 at the meet.
Oliver also turned in a successful collegiate cross country debut with a time of 20:07.3 to place fifth on the team, and Sukramani finished sixth among Wake Forest runners with a time of 21:33.9.
Loeser Shines in Season Debut
Senior Paul Loeser started the 2011 season on a high note at the Covered Bride Open, finishing second overall in a time of 25:40.2 on the 8k course. Loeser finished first among Demon Deacon runners, and he was only 11 seconds behind the overall first-place finisher.
It seems as if his summer training has certainly paid off, as Loeser spent several weeks running in Quito, Ecuador, at an altitude of approximately 93,000 feet. The local product out of Mount Tabor High School is now logging 95 miles per week, which is more than he has completed in past years.
Men's Squad at Covered Bridge Open
Following Loeser, junior Tom Finneran finished second for the Deacs and 30th overall with a time of 26:40.8. Three more Deacon runners finished in the top 50, with Jake Graham in 39th (26:58.5), Anthony Marois in 43rd (27:07.6), and Alexander Rose in 46th (27:13.6).
It marked the first collegiate cross country race for Rose, although he competed with the Deacs last year during both the indoor and outdoor track seasons.
Wake Forest finished seventh overall at the meet with a total of 151 points.
Next Up
Following the Clemson Invitational, the Deacs will take the next weekend off before returning to action on Friday, Sept. 30 for the Charlotte Invitational.
