Sept. 15, 2007

The South Carolina cross country team finished second at the Asics-Winthrop Invitational as senior Rebecca Chain claimed a fifth place finish to lead the Gamecocks with a time of 18:30.

“I think we made a really good effort and I was very happy with the outcome. It was better than the last race and it is a good step for getting ready for the SEC,” Head Cross Country Coach Stan Rosenthal said.

The Gamecocks finished with 39 points behind Davidson, who claimed the team title with 24 points. South Carolina had five players finish in the top-10. Freshman Ashley Evens finished seventh, while junior Callie Rabun was right on her heels in eighth. Junior Casey Gale finished eighth with freshman Tara Tae following to finish 10th.

“We had five in the to-10, which was good, but Davidson had too many people in front of us,” Rosenthal said.

The Gamecocks stayed consistent for a majority of the race, holding their spaces. The top-5 runners for the Gamecocks stayed together through most of the race. At the mile marker, South Carolina had eight people in the top-15. Tae continued to pass runners and move up throughout the race to finish 10th.

“Tara probably had the best finish on our team, as of passing people and moving up,” Rosenthal said.

The Gamecocks will have six days off before returning to action Fri., Sept. 21 in Charlotte, N.C. at 6p.m.