Adu Dentamo paced the men's squad to a first place finish, while a second place individual performance |
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Niner Cross Country Protects Home Course with Pair of Victories
Sept. 13, 2008
Charlotte, N.C. – On what was a warm and humid early Saturday morning in the Queen City, the Charlotte 49er men’s and women’s cross country teams each turned in solid performances as they both were victorious at the Bojangles Invitational on the Charlotte Campus Course.
Aside from the top team performances, Adu Dentamo was the top finisher for the men’s team while sophomore Amanda Goetschius was the top women’s performer as she was victorious with a time 18:56.
The Niners got the day started off with a strong showing from the men’s team which won the 8K event with 45 points as they placed three runners in the top ten.
Redshirt-junior Adu Denatmo led the way for Charlotte with a time of 25:56, which was good enough for second place overall. Jordan Rickard placed fourth overall (26:21) while Dakota Lowery placed tenth in a time of 26:51.
Rounding out the five man scoring unit for the 49ers was Chase Eckard, who finished 12th with a time of 26:57 and Matt Dobler who placed 17th in a time of 27:18.
49er mentor Brad Herbster felt his team turned in a solid performance but still has a bit of work to do before they return to the Queen City in November for the Atlantic 10 championships.
“We went out too hard, but stayed the course and were able to turn it into a team win, but we can’t do that at the A-10 Championships if we expect to win, we just need to be patient and run our race,” said Herbster about his men’s squad.
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Charlotte’s top men’s finisher, Dentamo, agreed with Herbster about the rapid pace of the 8K race.
“I felt good as a whole, but I think I may have gone out a little too fast, overall I am very happy though,” said Dentamo, who sat out last season and was back in action for the first time since 2006.
On the women’s side, Goetschius led the 49er pack, which placed all five runners within the top six, to easily win the team crown with 18 points.
Goetschius was followed by Keara Thomas (19:09) in second place, Kristin Mitchell (19:50) in fourth place, Janet Barry (20:02) in fifth place and Stephanie Snyder (20:04) in sixth place as Charlotte rounded out their five scorers.
Herbster was exceptionally pleased with the performance of his women’s team and was also pleased with the race Goetschius put together.
“I saw teamwork from our women’s squad which is something I’ve been wanting to see for a long time…as for Amanda, I thought she did a great job, turned in a sold effort and really set a solid pace,” said Herbster who’s teams were victorious on their home course for the second straight year.
Goetschius’ time of 18:56 was the only time on the day to crack 19 minutes, and the Garden State native felt good as she won her first career intercollegiate race.
“I felt pretty good out there, it was hot and the course was hard. My time wasn’t great, but it was good enough to win today,” said Goetschius, who was the 49ers top finisher at the 2007 A-10 Championships.
Turning back to the men’s race, East Tennessee State’s Kenneth Rotich was the leader as he set a blistering pace of 25:22 on the 8K course and led his team to a second place finish overall.
Rounding out the top five on the men’s side were St. Joseph’s, Xavier and Winthrop, while on the women’s side the Niners were followed by St. Joseph’s, Xavier, Winthrop and Lenoir-Rhyne.
Charlotte will be back in action a week from today when it travels across the border to Rock Hill, S.C. to take part in the Winthrop Invitational.
