ATLANTA (September 16) – The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s cross country teams each turned in strong performances to place third in their respective races at the Wolfpack Invitational hosted by NC State in Raleigh, N.C.
The Yellow Jackets men’s team placed seven runners in the top 25 to score 68 points and finish third behind nationally ranked NC State and the Virginia Cavaliers. Tech was once again led by a pair of freshmen, as Kyle Rabbitt (Red Oak, Ga.) continued his impressive rookie campaign in finishing sixth with a time of 23:58, joining Rabbitt in the top ten was Brendon Mahoney (Cumming, Ga.), who placed ninth with a time of 24:02.
Also finishing in the top 20 for the Jackets was a third rookie, Kyle McDonagh (San Francisco, Calif.), who placed 15th with a time of 24:21 over the 8K circuit and junior Joe Stegall (Rydal, Ga.), who finished 16th with his time of 24:24.
The top 25 performers in the event were rounded out by a trio of Yellow Jackets, as senior Brent Williams (Farmington, Mo.) placed 23rd in 24:53, and juniors Phillip Gable (Kennesaw, Ga.) and Brent Johnson (Fayetteville, Ga.) were 24th and 25th respectively with matching times of 24:59. The Georgia Tech contingent was rounded out by freshmen Billy Simpson (Mtn. Home, Ark.) in 55th at 26:35 and Daniel Moss (Alpharetta, Ga.) in 57th place with a time of 26:37.
Georgia Tech’s women’s team placed four runners in the top 25 and scored 85 points to also finish third behind NC State and Virginia. Sophomore Amy Dock (Charlotte, N.C.) led the Jackets for the second-straight week, as she finished fifth with a time of 19:27. She was followed by freshman Renee Metivier (Highland Village, Texas) who was sixth in a time of 19:31.
Also in the top 25 for Tech was junior Sara Pardue (Aurora, Colo.), whose time of 19:58 was good for 15th place. Pardue was followed by fellow third-year performer Rachael Caruso (Duluth, Ga.), who finished 22nd with a time of 20:10.
Rounding out the Yellow Jacket contingent in the field was junior Ashley Espy (Summerville, Ga.) who finished 37th with a time of 20:49. She was followed in the race by freshmen Betsy Bulat (Moorestown, N.J.) and Christine Noelke (Wilmington, Del.), who finished 38th and 40th respectively with their times of 20:50 and 20:53.
Georgia Tech will return to action next weekend when it competes in the Georgia State Invitational in Atlanta on Saturday, September 23.
