Nov. 11, 2016
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s cross country teams marked five career bests in their 7th and 13th-place finishes at the 2016 NCAA South Regional on Friday morning. Both teams topped their performances at the event last season.
“We were pleased with both teams today,” said head coach Alan Drosky. “The men came in ranked eleventh in the region and came out seventh, the women weren’t ranked in the top fifteen and finished thirteenth.”
The women raced first in the 6k at Apalachee Regional Park, home course of Florida State. The Yellow Jackets bested their 17th-place finished from the 2015 season, topping Atlantic Coast Conference foe Miami and finishing 13th out of 30 teams. Sophomore Amy Ruiz crossed the line first for the Yellow Jackets as No. 59 out of the 212 finishers and a time of 21:36.9. She was followed by Mary Prouty who finished 65th with a time of 21:44.7. Hailey Gollnick and Haley Stumvoll finished fourth and fifth for Tech, racing career-best times of 21:50.1 and 22:22.1 respectively. Rounding out the top seven was Mary Claire Solomon (22:28.4), Melissa Fairey (22:28.8) and Hayley Keadey (22:48.2).
“The women are making good progress and competing hard,” Drosky commented. “Amy [Ruiz] has had an outstanding season as a redshirt freshman and Mary [Prouty] has been a consistently strong second.”
The men placed 7th in the 10k topping last year’s 8th-place finish and besting Miami. The Yellow Jackets were led once again by junior Nahom Solomon who raced a career-best time of 31:35.4 for a 31st-place finish followed by Frank Pittman just half of a second later. Alex Grady finished third for the Jackets, crossing the line 34th with a career-best time of 31:40.4. Matt Munns raced a career-best of 31:45.7. Mitchell Sanders (31:52.9), Tanner Shaw (32:12.1) and Christian Bowles (32:49.4) finished out the top seven for the Yellow Jackets.
“The men ran a great team race with our top five finishing within seventeen seconds, that’s outstanding,” said Drosky. “Nahom [Solomon] has been a great leader throughout the season and Frank [Pittman] ran like a seasoned veteran in his first 10,000m ever.”
Georgia Tech Results
Women’s 6k Individual
59. Amy Ruiz — 21:36.9
65. Mary Prouty — 21:44.7
70. Hailey Gollnick — 21:50.1
98. Haley Stumvoll — 22:22.1
106. Mary Claire Solomon — 22:28.4
108. Melissa Fairey — 22:28.8
125. Hayley Keadey — 22:48.2
Women’s Team Results
1. Mississippi State – 66
2. Mississippi – 67
3. Vanderbilt – 138
4. Alabama – 177
5. Georgia – 195
13. Georgia Tech – 379
Men’s 10k Individual
31. Nahom Solomon — 31:35.4
32. Frank Pittman — 31:35.9
34. Alex Grady — 31:40.4
40. Matthew Munns — 31:45.7
47. Mitchell Sanders — 31:52.9
57. Tanner Shaw — 32:12.1
89. Christian Bowles — 32:49.4
Men’s Team Results
1. Mississippi – 46
2. Middle Tennessee – 61
3. Georgia – 105
4. Alabama – 122
5. Florida State — 127
6. Samford – 165
7. Georgia Tech – 173
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech cross country and track & field teams, follow us on Twitter (@GT_TrackNField), Facebook (Georgia Tech Track & Field/Cross Country) or visit us atwww.ramblinwreck.com.
