Oct. 17, 2014

Women’s 5K Results

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – South Carolina’s Anna Todd led the Gamecocks this evening at the Crimson Classic at the Harry Pritchett Running Course, as the junior finished ninth among 291 runners. Carolina finished eighth with 246 points in a field of 33 teams.

Alabama won the meet on its home course with 68 points, while Georgia Tech placed second and Auburn rounded out the top three in third.

Todd continued her streak of setting personal best times as she posted a mark of 17:44.99, the eighth fastest 5K in program history. Last season, she became only the eighth runner in school history to run a 5K in under 18 minutes.

After being the Gamecocks’ third finisher in her past two meets, junior Stephanie Berger moved up to second today as she posted a time of 18:24.04 to finish 49th. Sophomore Mary Reiser was not too far behind, clocking a time of 18:28.66.

Redshirt junior Kayla Lampe, who continues her journey back from injury, finished four spots back of Reiser in 61st place with a time of 18:32.57. Redshirt sophomore Ashley Miller was the Gamecocks’ final point scorer on the day, placing 83rd at 18:51.99.

Meet Changer:
Junior Anna Todd finished ninth by posting a new 5K personal record at 17:44.99.

Key Stat:
South Carolina’s five scorers each finished in the top 83 spots, with six runners finishing the race in under 19 minutes.

Notables:
• Junior Anna Todd posted the eighth fastest 5K time in school history at 17:44.99 to finish in the top 10.
• For the third meet in the row, Todd has set a new personal record (21:02, 6K, Paul Short Run, Oct. 4; 21:58.9, 6K, Charlotte Invitational, Sept. 26)
• The Gamecocks continue to be led by their veterans, with a redshirt junior (Lampe), three juniors (Berger, Todd, Christine Kent), a redshirt sophomore (Miller) and a sophomore (Reiser) finishing amongst the team’s top six.

Quotable:
South Carolina Assistant Coach for Distance/Cross Country Andrew Allden
Opening Statement
“Anna Todd ran another great race after recovering from a tough start to pass more than 50-60 runners. Overall as a team, we were a bit disappointed as we were shooting for a top six finish, but to have a bit of an off day and still finish eighth and beat LSU and Tennessee shows how far we have come. Stephanie Berger in second and Ashley Miller in fifth both had solid runs for us, and Kayla Lampe continued her journey back and I am sure she’ll continue to progress.”

Up Next:
South Carolina will take two weeks off to recover before returning to the Harry Pritchett Running Course in Tuscaloosa to compete in the SEC Championships on Oct. 31. The women’s 6K is set to start at 10.m., ET.