Sept. 16, 2010
BISHOP, Ga. – Both Patrick Barron and Mary Kate DuBard edged their Bulldog opponents to capture the title at the Georgia/Georgia Tech Dual Meet Thursday night. The wins mark the first time in the history of the dual meets between the rivals that a Yellow Jacket has crossed the line first. Georgia took home the team victory though in both races.
“First-off, congratulations to Mary Kate and Patrick on their individual wins,” said Head Coach Alan Drosky. “Both executed solid race plans. Mary Kate took control in the middle and was able to hold on to the end. Patrick ran a patient race and fought all the way to the finish, winning the race in the last 3 meters of the 8000 meter race.”
Barron’s victory was the highlight of the night as the sophomore narrowly edged out Brett Richardson of Georgia for the victory finishing in 25:22.52 to Richardson’s 25:22.84. DuBard’s victory was a little easier. The junior grabbed hold of the lead in the middle of the race and hung out to beat her closest Georgia opponent by 10 seconds finishing with a time of 18:01.42.
“The weather conditions made for some difficult racing,” continued Drosky, “But both teams put up some good performances and improved from our last outing. UGA’s depth on both sides was too much to overcome. Our women need to keep working and the men need to bring more intensity to the middle of the race.”
The victory is the first of Barron’s career. Last season, in his first year on the Flats, Barron turned in an 11th place finish.
The win is also the first ever in DuBard’s prolific career. She did not compete in last year’s dual meet but finished third in the 2008 head-to-head run.
Rounding out the top-5 for the Jacket men were D.J. McMillan in sixth (25:50.18), Shawn Roberts in seventh (25:52.13), Philip O’Brien in eighth (25:53.19), and Nick McNutt in 12th (26:12.59).
For the women it was Betsy Kim in 11th (18:57.34), Felicity Brower in 12th (18:58.19), Megan Breitbach in 14th place (19:09.12) and Sarah Anderson in 20th place (19:32.18).
The Georgia women won with a 20-43 score while the Georgia men beat the Jackets by 11 points, 23-34.
Both teams will return to the course when they compete in two weeks at the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic on October 2 beginning at 10:15 a.m.
