Mississippi State
Blue Ridge Invitational
MSU Leaves North Carolina With Two Top 5 Finishes
October 15, 2010 | Cross Country
BOONE, N.C. - Haley Greenwell continued her impressive sophomore assault Friday, placing 11th overall at the Blue Ridge Open to lead the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs to a third-place finish.
The Collierville, Tenn., native ran the 5k State Farm Field course at 18:00.80 to top all MSU runners, while the men also turned in a Top 5 finish at No. 5, paced by Adam Lenz' 21st-place finish with an 8K time of 25:22.30.
On the women's side, Duke, ranked No. 6 nationally, won with 23 points. Virginia Tech was second with 63 points. The Lady Bulldogs totaled 127 points, followed by Kentucky and host Appalachian State at 191 and 194, respectively, to round out the Top 5.
Finishing first on the men's side was Appalachian State with 59 points, followed by High Point (63), Virginia Tech (108), Kentucky (143) and the Bulldogs (160).
"Haley Greenwell ran real well again," MSU coach Steve Dudley said. "But again, this sport is entirely about the team, and when she finished, all she was worried about was how everyone else did. And this time, we had more girls step up. This is a group that doesn't care about individual accomplishments, and it's starting to show."
Renee Masterson was the second Lady Bulldog to cross the finish line, posting a time of 18:24.30. Not far behind were Katie Huston (18:35.80), Dominque Lockhart (18:54.40) and Chloe Phillips (19:00.20).
"I really saw a difference in Katie," Dudley said. "Renee was again solid. She's never going to have a bad race, and that's the type of athlete you love to have."
While there's still improvement to be had on the men's side, Dudley felt it was one of the Bulldogs' best runs of the season.
"I know they can run a lot better, and they know they can run a lot better," he said. "Our middle guys ran well, and we improved. We still have some ground to make up, but I'm seeing progress."
Although the Bulldogs placed fifth overall, they actually won the gold division. Overall, coming in behind Lenz were Nick Perkins (25:30.40), Juan Sanches (26:06.40), Cameron Vernier (26:09.00) and Mike Clark (26:28.40).
Complete Men's Results
1. Appalachian State, 59
2. High Point, 63
3. Virginia Tech, 108
4. Kentucky, 143
5. Mississippi State, 160
Mississippi State: 21. Adam Lenz, 25:22.30; 24. Nick Perkins, 25:30.40; 47. Juan Sanches, 26:06.40; 49. Cameron Vernier, 26:09.00; 66. Mike Clark, 26:28.40.
Medalist: Neal Darmody, High Point, 24:35.90.
Complete Women's Results
1. Duke, 23
2. Virginia Tech, 63
3. Mississippi State, 127
4. Kentucky, 191
5. Appalachian State, 194
Mississippi State: 11. Haley Greenwell, 18:00.80; 22. Renee Masterson, 18:24.30; 33. Katie Huston, 18:35.80; 48. Dominque Lockhart, 18:54.40; 56. Chloe Phillips, 19:00.20.
Medalist: Carly Seymour, Duke, 17:15.00.
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