Cross Country Teams Gaining Recognition

Cross Country Men Place 11th, Women Place 20th at NCAA Southeast Regional

CSU’s Cross Country teams turned in a respectable showing among several nationally ranked teams at the NCAA Southeast Regional. The men’s team finished 11th while the women finished 20th in the 32 team fields.

Micah Gilpatric led the Bucs once again with a 30:21 10K, good for 29th place overall. Alan Deogracias also finished in the top 50 with his personal best time of 30:46 earning him 46th. At 31:03, Gavin Kuhlenbeck also ran a personal best, as did Rob Howorth with his time of 31:42. Zack Wedding was the 10th freshman across the line, running a 31:49 in his first collegiate 10K. Jaden Kingsley and Tom Joyce were sixth and seventh for the Bucs, turning in times of 31:53 and 32:13 respectively.

Sarah McCartney dropped more than a minute off of her 2021 time to break into the top 100, finishing 80th with a time of 21:56. Anne Akagi ran her best 6K of the season at 22:26 and placed 108th. Zanelle Willemse and Sarah Jacobs were CSU’s third and fourth runners, crossing the line just seconds apart. Willemse set a 6K personal best of 22:49 with Jacobs close behind at 22:52. Freshman Taylar White represented the fifth runner for the Bucs with a time of 24:21, and Emma James rounded out CSU’s roster, crossing the line at 25:26.

CSU Wins Third Straight Men’s Cross Country Title

The Charleston Southern Men’s Cross Country team completed the three-peat in the fall, capturing their third straight Big South Championship with just 25 points.

Micah Gilpatric won the 8K race with a 20 second personal best, crossing the line at 24:04. Alan Deogracias set a new PR by five seconds and took second place with a time of 24:21. Gavin Kuhlenbeck was CSU’s third runner in the top five with a fifth-place time of 24:48.

The next four Buccaneers finished in order, with Jaden Kingsley, Zach Wedding, Tom Joyce, and Rob Howorth taking spots 8-11 within 15 seconds of each other. Freshman Sam Waldin rounded out CSU’s dominating performance with a 13th place finish at 25:37. All seven of Charleston Southern’s runners made the Big South All-Conference team.

The championship is the Bucs’ third in a row and their fourth Big South title in program history. Charleston Southern is one of just five Big South programs to win more than three conference championships.

Gilpatric is Charleston Southern’s fourth individual champion and the first since Trevor Dominy in 2020-21.

Deogracias was named to the All-Conference team for the fourth straight season and became just the 13th runner in conference history to do so. He joins the late Patrick Van Boden and Jaymee Domoney as the only CSU runners to make the All-Conference team four times. Gilpatric and Kuhlenbeck were also named All-Conference for the third time.

It’s the third Big South Championship for Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Jim Stinzi, which is the most for any active Big South coach and the third-most in Big South history. Stinzi was also named Coach of the Year on the men’s side, his third straight honors and fourth of his career.

Buccaneer Women Finish Second at Big South Championship

The Charleston Southern Women’s Cross Country team was the runner-up at the 2022 Big South Championship, the best finish in program history.

Sarah McCartney topped the Bucs lineup with a seventh-place finish and a 5K time of 17:49, her personal best by more than 20 seconds. Keerstin Augustin was right behind her in eighth place and crossed the line at 17:58. Anne Akagi finished just two spots behind her in 10th place at 18:04 and also setting a PR by more than 20 seconds.

Sarah Jacobs set a personal best by nearly a minute, running a 18:22 and posting a 15th place finish. Senior Zanelle Willemse rounded out CSU’s top five with a 33 second personal best and finishing 19th. Underclassmen Taylar White and Emma James also set new personal bests as the Bucs’ sixth and seventh runners.

The Bucs’ second-place finish is the best in program history. They had finished third five times before, including in the 2021 meet.