Sept. 8, 2001

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina women’s cross country team failed to defend their title at the Gamecock Invitational, falling to Coastal Carolina, today at Hilton Field. The Chants tallied 25 points while the Gamecocks scored 44. Campbell University closed out the top three, finishing with 79 points.

With a time of 17:20, Campbell Camel, Heather Lee, won the women’s division. Freshman Jenny Lake was the top finisher for the Gamecocks. Lake crossed the finish line in second place at 17:49. Coastal Carolina teammates Kara Koppel and Kim Nemergut finished three-four and UCS’s Rachel Smith rounded out the top five.

Other times for South Carolina included freshman Nikki Campbell (ninth), Kinsey Eschenburg (16th), Mary Wright (19th) and Nicole Berhns (20th).

On the men’s side, Coastal Carolina senior, Campbell Claridge, ran the top time of 15:36. Camels, Ryan Richmond and Michael Earl, placed second and third to help lead Campbell to a first place team victory.

The team is off next weekend and then will travel to Rock Hill, S.C. for the Great American Cross Country Festival, on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m. They will compete against 25 other Division 1 schools, eight of whom are nationally ranked.

Women's Top 10
1. Heather Lee		17:20
2. Jenny Lake		17:49
3. Kara Koppel	17:55
4. Kim Nemergut	18:15
5. Rachel Smith	18:25
6. Lindsey Kozlowski	18:30
7. Natasha Elliott	18:35
8. Robyn Ritter	19:01
9. Nikki Campbell	19:06
10. Kym Weselak	19:10

Men’s Top 10
1. Campbell Claridge 15:36
2. Ryan Richmond 15:46
3. Michael Earl 15:53
4. Michael Killoran 16:02
5. Kyle Ridington 16:16
6. Justin Foxworth 16:26
7. Eddie Hood 16:36
8. Matt Denyse 16:38
9. Clarence Williams 16:50
10. Shawn Sullivan 16:54