ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech women’s cross country team finished in a tie for second and by virtue of a tiebreaker earned a trip to the NCAA Championships, while the men placed eighth at the NCAA South Regional. The event was hosted by the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday.
The Yellow Jacket women turned in a school-best performance at the regional and won the event’s tiebreaker to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships in Ames, Iowa on November 20. Tech finished with 107 points and was tied with in-state rival Georgia for second behind team champion South Florida, which finished with 71 points.
The Jackets were led by freshman Renee Metivier (Highland Village, Texas), who finished in sixth place with a time of 21:08.86 over the 8K circuit. She was joined in the top 10 by sophomore Amy Dock (Charlotte, N.C.), who was 10th with a time of 21:23.62.
Also in the Top 30 for Tech was sophomore Eboni Crosby (Aurora, Colo.) in 28th with her time of 21:55.05. Junior Sara Pardue (Aurora, Colo.) was the next Yellow Jacket finisher as she placed 36th with a time of 22:01.75.
Rounding out the Tech contingent in the women’s field was Amy Edwards (Marietta, Ga.) in 41st with at time of 22.18.20 and junior Ashley Espy (Summerville, Ga.) in 94th at 23:39.81. The final Yellow Jacket competitor was rookie Betsy Bulat (Moorestown, N.J.) in 97th place with a time of 23:43.85.
The Tech men’s harriers finished eighth with 213 points, which was well off the pace of team champion and host Alabama, which finished with 47 points.
The top Jacket men’s finisher was junior Joe Stegall (Rydal, Ga.) in 21st place with a time of 32:21.00 over the 10K course. He was followed by fellow junior Phillip Gable (Kennesaw, Ga.) in 46th with a time of 33:02.99.
The next Tech finisher was Brent Williams (Farmington, Mo.), who place 47th with a time of 33:03.57. He was followed by freshman Kyle Rabbitt (Red Oak, Ga.) in 57th at 33:06.88.
Also in the field for Tech was junior Matt O’Brien (Marietta, Ga.) in 75th at 33:52.68, senior Jason Grier (Kennesaw, Ga.) in 94th place with a time of 34:33.27 and rookie Jared McGehee (Richardson, Texas) in 113th at 35:26.79.
