Complete Results
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Davidson Wildcat cross country team captured a first-place finish behind three top-five performances at the USC Upstate Invitational Saturday morning in Spartanburg.
Freshman
Natalie Atabek paced the Wildcats once again, finishing in third place with a time of 18:53, followed immediately by junior
Lauren Childs (4th, 18:57) and classmate
Heather Conarroe (5th, 19:01).
"I am extremely proud of the way we ran today!" head coach Jen Straub said. "We put it all together as a team, and I'm feeling very good about where we are as we finish our season. We are right where we need to be and running great as we begin to prepare for the Southern Conference championships!"
All five of the Wildcat scorers finished in the top 15 in the field of 101 runners. Junior
Danielle Ruggieri finished ninth with a time of 19:12, and classmate
Sarah Cline rounded out of the Wildcat scoring with a 15th-place time of 19:32.
As a team, the Wildcats amassed just 36 points to win their first team title of the season. Host USC Upstate finished in the runner-up spot with 45 points, behind individual champion Caroline Chelulei (17:59) and runner-up Jemeli Sang (18:00).
In the field of 12, UNC Greensboro finished third with 67 points, followed by Charlotte (102), Wofford (137), Carson-Newman (188), and Converse (208). Campbell (224), South Wesleyan (229) and Charleston Southern (245) rounded out the top 10.
The Wildcats will now prepare for the 2009 Southern Conference Championships, held in Elon, N.C. on Oct. 31.