Sept. 28, 2002

Charleston, SC - With over 800 entries between Division I, II colleges and High Schools, the 2002 Citadel Invitational Cross Country Meet concluded one more year with much success. Citadel Cross Country head coach, Jody Huddleston, organized this year's event and along with James Island County Park, played host to 7 DI colleges, 10 DII colleges and nearly 25 high schools.

"This was a very successful meet with good college and high school competition. It is a great opportunity for us to recruit with 25 high school's present, and realistically we made some contacts," stated coach Huddleston.

The high schools were represented by Varsity men's and women's teams, along with a JV squad. Taking top honors in the men's varsity 5K competition was senior runner, Reid Touchberry from Fort Dorchester, with a time of 17:26. Richland Northeast captured the number one spot in the team results with a total score of 74. The Varsity women ran an excellent 5K race with Elizabeth Tempel, a freshman from Beaufort High School, finishing first with a time of 20:34.

For the JV runners, Hilton Head Prep represented the top spot in both the men and women's races. Andrew Hazel, a freshman from Hilton Head Prep, completed his run in 19:26 while Kirsten Ayers, a seventh grader from the same school took the number one spot with a time of 24:27.

In the college competition, Carson-Newman took the top team spot for the men in Division II, with individual honors going to Orinthal Striggles from Benedict with a time of 26:56. Individual winner Jennifer Sauceman from Carson-Newman led the Division II women with a time of 19:57 all the while leading her team to a win over Savannah College of Art and Design.

Division I powerhouse, Furman, swept the team competition for both the men and the women. Kevin Crosby, from Furman, completed the 8K in 26:19 for first while Jenny Lake, from the University of South Carolina completed her 5K in 18:55.

The Citadel Men's Cross Country Team rallied to a second place finish behind Furman and coach Huddleston could not be happier for them. "We are very excited to be second to Furman. They are a good team and we really closed the gap on them from our last race together. We ran a lot better today and will continue to improve."

The Citadel's top runner at the invitational was Robert Killian placed fifth with a time of 27:00. Nick Gastley made an impressive showing placing seventh with a time of 27:59. The top Citadel women's runner was Olivia Perry-Smith with a 22nd place finish and a time of 21:36.

Huddleston feels that both the men's and women's cross country teams from The Citadel are really working on getting in shape and will be more competitive as the season goes on. The Citadel Invitational was a great success and many thanks go out to The Citadel's Track and Field Team, the support staff and James Island County Park for all their help.

The Citadel's men's cross country team's next race will be October 12, 2002, at the Furman Invitational. The Women will travel to USC-Spartanburg October 12, as well.

Division I Men (8k) - Team Scores1. Furman 282. The Citadel 483. Charleston Southern 994. College of Charleston 1035. Savannah State 1166. South Carolina State 140

Division I Men (8k)- Individual Scores1. Kevin Crosby (FUR) 26:192T. Samuel Mangusho (Sav St) 26:412T. Jake Karn (CSU) 26:414. Grady Powell (FUR) 26:425. Robert Killian (CIT) 27:006. Matt Goodwin (FUR) 27:127. Nick Gastley (CIT) 27:598. Tyler Johnson (FUR) 28:089. Ben Whitaker (FUR) 28:1410. Marc Quesenberry (CIT) 28:22

Division I Women (5k) - Team Scores1. Furman 282. South Carolina 613T. College of Charleston 793T. Charleston Southern 795. South Carolina State 1506. The Citadel 1567. Savannah State 193

Division I Women (5k) - Individual Scores1. Jenny Lake (USC) 18:552. Lindsey McPherson (CSU) 18:573. Bev Roberts (FUR) 19:374. Brittany Thompson (FUR) 19:405. Whitney Kay Sharp (FUR) 19:426. Allicia Walker (CSU) 19:547. Molly Mungovan (FUR) 19:578. Kinsey Eschenburg (USC) 20:099. Katie Poole (FUR) 20:1210. Jen Gratton (CSU) 20:17

Division II Men (8k) - Team Scores1. Carson-Newman 332. Lenior-Rhyne 723. Benedict 1184. North Georgia 1205. Morris 1386. Voorhees 1447. SCAD 1578. Erskine 1649. Payne 183

Division II Men (8k) - Individual Scores1. Orinthal Striggles (Benedict) 26:562. Adam Stewart (LR) 28:203. John Miklas (CN) 28:234. Nelson Winters (LR) 28:355. Eric Malkowski (CN) 28:456. Daniel Julian (CN) 29:227. P. Bess (LR) 29:458. Garret Johnson (SCAD) 29:599. Bryce Kirksey (CN) 30:1810. James Spickard (CN) 30:24

Division II Women (5k) - Team Scores1. Carson-Newman 362. SCAD 473. Erskine 584. North Georgia 995. Benedict 1416. Payne 1647. Morris 169

Division II Women (5k) - Individual Scores1. Jennifer Sauceman (CN) 19:572. Margaux Cowan-Banker (CN) 20:313. Rosemarie Browne (Ben) 20:334. Beth O'Brien (SCAD) 20:345. Jessica Brown (CN) 20:556. Erin Coulter (LR) 20:577. Kendra Baird (SCAD) 21:198. Jessica Martin (Erskine) 21:399. Edith Taylor (CN) 21:5210. Whitney Heavner (LR) 21:56