THE FLATS – Georgia Tech cross country got their post season underway at the ACC Championships in South Bend, Ind. on Friday at the ACC Championships. The women’s team finished eighth and the men’s team finished 12th.
“Outside of Nicole’s all-ACC finish, it was a disappointing day for both teams as we fell short of our expectations. At this level the margin of error is so small. We know when we run best we are patient early on and then moving up throughout the race. We were decent with the first part, but then just settled in where we were. That can’t happen for us to run well,” Head Coach Alan Drosky said of his team’s performance.
The top finisher on the women’s side was Nicole Fegans who ran with the lead pack for the entire race. She finished seventh overall with a time of 20:30.8. With this finish, Fegans earns All-ACC honors for the third straight year. The seventh place finish is her best at the ACC Cross Country Championships in her final time competing at the event.
“Today was very bittersweet for sure. To finish out my last ACC Championship meet with All-ACC honors is all I could have asked for. The race today was full of fight but I feel I fought to the end,” Fegans said. “It is sad to think that this was one of my last cross country races but I am so thankful for all the opportunities I have had over the years.”
Georgia Tech scorers include Claire Moritz who was the second Tech runner to cross the line when she clocked in at 21:16.7. Moritz was followed up by Liz Galarza who finished at 21:27.2. Katy Earwood was the final scorer for the Yellow Jackets with a time of 22:24.4.
Sarah Copeland was vying for women’s freshman of the year. If she was the first true freshman to cross, she would have earned the honor. She finished third among true freshman but still fourth among Tech runners with a time of 21:36.7.
“With the women, while disappointed with eighth, we were just 13 points out of sixth. We were closing really well but started from too far back. Nicole was stellar once again, earning her third All-ACC honors with her highest ACC finish in cross country,” Drosky added.
The men’s side was highlighted by a return to action for Myles Collins. Collins had run unattached for two races earlier in the year. In his first race as an attached runner, Collins was the second Yellow Jacket on the men’s team to finish with a time of 25:21.5.
“It was great getting to run for the team again and put the Georgia Tech jersey on,” Collins said.
The rest of the scorers for the White and Gold were James Cragin (24:38.7), Henrik Anderson (25:21.9), John Higinbotham (25:22.2) and Zach Jaeger (25:41.9).
“The men just never moved up. We got comfortable where we were, which was not where we needed to be. We need to be willing to get out of our comfort zone and rebound in a big way in two weeks,” Drosky noted about the men’s team’s performance.
The next meet for Georgia Tech comes on Friday, Nov. 12 in Huntsville, Ala. at the NCAA South Regional.
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