Nov. 1, 2003

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Terrapin men's and women's cross country teams both placed seventh at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships Saturday at Wake Forest, tying and beating, respectively, their highest team finishes since 1991. The men's squad had not finished above eighth place in over 10 years, while the women matched last year's seventh-place finish that ended the same draught.

"We met our goal of becoming more actively involved in the ACC today," Head Coach Trent Sanderson said. "We really had some great performances and met our expectations for the competition."

The North Carolina women and NC State men, both perennial cross country powerhouses, took home the team titles. This is the Tar Heels' third women's cross country championship overall and first since 1999. The Wolfpack men placed five runners in top 10 to win their eighth ACC championship in the last nine years. Shalane Flanagan of North Carolina and Andy Smith of NC State were the individual champions.

Freshman Peter Hess (Toms River, N.J.) led the way for the Maryland, finishing in sixth place in the field of 69 runners in his third collegiate 8K competition. The young Terp garnered tremendous praise from Sanderson for his 24:35.1 time, which earned him a spot on the All-ACC team.

"Peter Hess was absolutely amazing," Sanderson said. "He made the All-ACC team, which is an incredible accomplishment, especially for a freshman. Peter really came through for us today."

Adam Ambrus (Shamong, N.J.) and Mike Prada (Fulton, Md.) also put in top 30 performances, finishing in 20th and 28th place, respectively.

Sophomore Allison Carney, who finished in 31st place with a time of 21:45.0, led the Terp women to their seventh place finish. One of the strongest performances, however, was that of sophomore Danielle Siebert who was the second Terp finisher, in at No. 25 with a time of 21:58.2.

"Danielle ran the best race of her career today," Sanderson said. "She stepped it up, finishing under 22 minutes for the second time in her career in a 6K race."

Siebert finished the Paul Short Invitational with a time of 21:55.84.

The Terps return to action on Nov. 15 at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship in Loch Haven, Pa.

Women's Individual Results

Overall
Finish       Runner                  Time 
1      31    Allison Carney          21:45.0
2      35    Danielle Siebert        21:58.2
3      49    Kim Smith               22:36.6
4      51    Laurel Jefferson        22:57.3
5      58    Rebecca Funk            23:20.1
6      60    Katie Purcell           23:32.7
7      61    Courtney Fiorovanti     23:36.9
8      62    Cori Koch               24:02.7


Men's Individual Results
Overall
Finish      Runner                   Time 
1      6    Peter Hess               24:35.1
2     20    Adam Ambrus              25:20.6
3     28    Mike Prada               25:38.5
4     54    Florent Groberg          26:38.2
5     55    Michael Porter           26:39.3
6     61    Mike Fleg                26:55.0
7     63    Natty Zola               27:00.1
8     65    Matt Adami               27:27.5
 

Complete Men's Results in PDF Format

Complete Women's Results in PDF Format