Oct. 1, 2004

Cary, NC – USC women’s cross country team (400) put on an impressive performance as they finished 15th, topping Alabama (425), in the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, NC on Friday.

The Gamecocks, who had many runners come close to setting new PRs, showed their skills as they maneuvered the difficult 6k course, in some areas still wet from hurricane rains brought to the Carolinas over the last few weeks. The course, located at the SAS Soccer Park, includes a dramatic start down a quarter mile incline, followed with a path through the woods, up hills and ending with a stadium finish.

“I was pleased with the effort,” Cross Country Coach Stan Rosenthal said. “The course was really hard. The girls ran really well for how difficult the course was.”

The annual competition featured some of the country’s top-ranked collegiate cross country programs. Finishing first was Duke University with a total of 56 points. North Carolina and Georgia followed with 85 and 122, respectively, to earn the number two and three spots.

Leading the Gamecocks to their 15th place finish was senior Jenny Lake. Lake finished 31st with an impressive time of 18:09, just seconds off her PR. Coming in at 75th was freshman Amy Wike with a time of 19:04. Rebecca Chain finished at 96th with a time of 19:31, while Tristan Rackow, Shay Shelton and Callie Rabum also finished the race with strong performances.

Rosenthal said considering the difficulty of the course and its condition, the times were good in comparison to the Gamecocks’ performances so far this season.

The top runner in the 6k competition was Shannon Rowbury (16:42) from Duke University, while North Carolina’s Carol Henry (16:58) and Erin Donohue (16:59) finished second and third, respectively.

The Gamecocks will be back in action on October 11 at Auburn University.

Individual finishes and times:

Jenny Lake 31st 18:09

Amy Wike 75th 19:04

Rebecca Chain 96th 19:31

Tristan Rackow 117th 19:48

Shay Shelton 133rd 20:29

Callie Rabun 148th 21:25