DAVIDSON, N.C. – Seniors
Lance Harden and
Tom Divinnie wrapped up stellar careers as they led the Davidson men’s cross country team to a 12th-place finish in a 35 team field at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships on Saturday, hosted by the University of Louisville and Greater Louisville Sports Commission at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park.
Harden completed the 10K course in 31 minutes, 28 seconds, to place 34th overall, a dramatic improvement from his 90th-place finish in the same event last season when the ‘Cats managed just a 21st-place finish.
The Wildcats totaled 362 points and finished just two-points behind Southern Conference champion Appalachian State, which took 11th. The ‘Cats were ranked 14th in the region entering the meet, but finished ahead of Kentucky and High Point, which were ranked ninth and 12th, respectively.
“It was an outstanding effort by our team today,” said Davidson head coach
Gary Andrew. “Lance ran an outstanding race, so it was great seeing he and Tom finish strong.”
Divinnie placed 58th in 32:11, while sophomore
Ryan Hopkins placed 70th in 32:23. Freshman
Demetrios Pagonis placed 94th (32:51), while junior
Charlie Schmitt (108th, 33:02) rounded out Davidson’s top five scoring group. Seniors
Thad Sieracki (33:06) and
Peter Bruton (33:09) were Davidson’s final finishers.
No. 8 William & Mary won the team title for the second-straight year, while Liberty’s Sam Chelanga captured his second-straight individual title in 29:32. The race featured four other nationally-ranked teams in No. 16 North Carolina State, No. 19 Virginia, No. 24 Louisville and No. 30 Duke.
The meet concluded one of the best seasons in Davidson men’s cross country history. Senior Lance Harden led the ‘Cats in each meet this season and guided the squad to a best-ever second place finish at the Southern Conference championships.