FROM STAFF REPORTS

The University of Montevallo women’s cross country team had two runners break the school 5K record and two others place in the top-10 all-time 5K times at Montevallo while competing Oct. 14 at the Queens University of Charlotte Royal Cross Country Challenge.

Junior Haley Evans broke her own school record, which she set during her freshman year. Evans ran the first 5K under 19 minutes in Montevallo cross country history. She completed the course with a time of 18:54.2, besting her previous record by more than 20 seconds. Evans finished 36th overall in the highly-competitive field.

The Falcons finished 10th out of 21 teams. The field featured a number of Division I programs, including perennial power Florida State University, which won the event. Only one Division II program, host Queens, finished ahead of the Falcons. Montevallo finished five points ahead of Mount Olive College, which is ranked third in the Southeast Region. The Falcons also bested Mars Hill, which is ranked fifth in the region.

Sophomore In-Mi Matsunaga also eclipsed Evans previous mark of 19:19 with a time of 19:16.5. Matsunaga finished 52nd overall. Junior Kaley Glover ran the sixth fastest time in school history with a 19:35.2, which placed her 63rd overall. Freshman Lauren Recchia ran the seventh fastest time in Montevallo history with a 19:40.7 and finished 67th overall.

Montevallo’s final scorer was senior Katherine Schofield, who finished 88th with a time of 20:13.1. Senior Ginny Davis finished 104th with a time of 20:35.3. Freshman Kelli McLaughlin finished 116th with a time of 20:57.1.

Senior Whitney Adkins finished 122nd with a time of 21:09.5, while freshman Jill Kleist finished 141st with a time of 22:12.0. The final Montevallo runner was freshman Jessi Clark, who finished 143rd with a time of 22:16.4.

The Falcons will now prepare for the Peach Belt Conference Championships, which will take place Saturday, Oct. 22 at 9:45 a.m. in Aiken, S.C.

The University of Montevallo men’s cross country team continued its strong 2011 campaign as two more runners broke the Montevallo 8K record at the Royal Cross Country Challenge.

Freshman Zackery Walsh eclipsed his previous school record by more than 30 seconds and became the first Montevallo runner to run under 27 minutes in an 8K event. Walsh finished the course with a time of 26:59.3. He placed 71st overall as he led the team to a 13th place finish out of 19 teams.

Sophomore Aaron Bush, a Shelby County High School graduate, also beat the previous record of 27:34.05 as he ran a 27:15.3 and finished 77th overall. Freshman Nick Fasanello ran the fifth fastest time in school history with a 27:55.9 and finished 101st overall.

Sophomore Mark McDonald rounded out the Falcons top four with a 28:12.0 and 106th place finish.

Freshman Brian Smith and newcomer Austin McIntosh finished 144th and 146th, respectively. Smith ran the course in 31:11.5 and McIntosh completed the race in 31:27.6.

The race marked the first cross country competition for McIntosh, who competed for the Montevallo men’s soccer team the past three seasons.

The Falcons finished ahead of Southeast Region rival Coker College and several others. Division I Davidson won the race, followed by Queens and VMI.