COCKEYSVILLE, Md. – College of Charleston cross country performed well on Saturday morning in their first appearance at the Colonial Athletic Association's Championship event, just outside of Baltimore, Md.
Still adjusting to the longer race lengths and hillier courses, the Cougars' men's and women's teams finished in fourth and fifth-place,respectively, at the Oregon Ridge Park course, hosted by Towson University.
“It was a nice experience for us,” said head coach Amy Seago. “We're happy to be a part of the CAA and now we know what to expect in these types of environments. We look forward to strong competition ahead as we continue to make strides and improve.”
On the men's side, the team was led by usual suspects Adam Seften (Bolton, Conn.) and Mackenzie Johnston (Hilton Head, S.C.). Seften – who was named to the all-conference team after the race – finished in twelfth-place with a time of 26 minutes, 5.17 seconds. Johnston – who was honored Friday evening for his CAA Runner of the Week award earlier this season – finished just behind Seften in 14th place with a time of 26:22.94. Falling in line behind the two front-runners was Alex Couch (Hilton Head, S.C.), Nicolaus Putnam (Columbia, S.C.), Josh Tierney (Blufton, S.C.), Andrew Tyler (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.), Tyler Wood (Glenwood, Md.), Sean McMahon (Hilton Head, S.C.) and Austin Poisson (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), who finished in 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th, 37th and 40th place, respectively.
“Adam ran a very tough race today,” said Seago. “Mackenzie was close too, but the hills created a little bit of separation between those two. With a young group of men it's tough to be able to expect them to immediately adapt to the 8K distance. With some more strength and miles under our legs next year, we will mature, and I expect us to be a better team. Hats off to Adam for achieving his goal of being an all-conference performer – I'm proud of him.”
Assistant coach Jason Bryan was also positive in his assessment of the men's performance.
“I thought the guy's up-front ran well today,” said Bryan. “We are a young team and we did the best we could on what was a very challenging course. Almost the entire team posted better times than we did when we were here earlier in the season (Towson Invitational).”
It was a difficult day for the women, who are still acclimating to the 6K race distance that is standard in the Colonial. Going for broke, the women probably could have placed higher with a more reserved approach, but instead opted to chase their goals – something that coach Seago takes pride in.
“While it's tough to be excited about a fifth place finish, I am very proud that the girls left it all on the course. They gave their all. I am proud of how hard they worked, and how hard they fought throughout the race. We could have played it safe and probably finished higher but we chased after our goals and fell short. In my book, an admirable fight is worth more than playing it safe.
Leading the way for the women was Hayley McMahon (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), who finished in 22-place with a time of 23:19.80. Just behind her was Trish Rein in 28-place, finishing in 23:30.54. Importantly, Danielle Sams (Goose Creek, S.C.) and Carlee Cassidy (Lindsay, Ontario) bridged the gap between McMahon and Rein and the rest of the pack with strong performances, finishing with times of 23:55.21and 24:03.60, respectively.
Next up for the Cougars is the NCAA Southeast Regionals, in Charlottesville, Va., on Friday, Nov. 15.
OVERALL TEAM RESULTS
Men's 8K
1)William and Mary
2)Northeastern
3)UNC Wilmington
4)College of Charleston
5)Hofstra
Women's 6K
1)William and Mary
2)James Madison
3)Delaware
4)Northeastern
5)College of Charleston
6)Towson
7)UNC Wilmington
8)Hofstra
COUGAR RESULTS:
Place Name Time
Men's 8K
12 Seften, Adam 26:05.17
14 Johnston, Mackenzie 26:22.94
32 Couch, Matthew 28:28.54
33 Putnam, Nicolaus 28:34.40
34 Tierney, Joshua 28:42.63
35 Tyler, Andrew 28:48.99
36 Wood, Tyler 28:52.15
37 McMahon, Sean 28:52.60
40 Poisson, Austin 30:13.98
Women's 6K
22 McMahon, Hayley 23:19.80
28 Rein, Patricia 23:30.54
37 Sams, Danielle 23:55.21
39 Cassidy, Carlee 24:03.60
45 Kostka, Kornelia 24:38.56
52 Sanders, Emily 25:04.40
58 Witkowski, Casey 25:36.61
63 Brewer, Elle 25:48.92
72 Butcher, Cara 27:13.05
SELECTED PHOTOS FROM THE WEEKEND
Photo Caption: Men's and Women's cross country at the CAA awards banquet on Friday evening.
Photo Caption: Adam Seften (left) and Mackenzie Johnston (right) celebrating their CAA Runner of the Week honors.
Photo Caption: Women's cross country amidst the fall foliage on Friday morning, outside Baltimore, Md.
