Men and women both fourth at Rocky Mountain Shootout
BOULDER – Northern Colorado freshman Tanelle Berard continued to have a strong first year on the cross country team, finishing 11th at the Rocky Mountain Shootout on Saturday.
Both the men's and women's teams finished fourth at the annual competition hosted by the University of Colorado. The women scored 108 points, while the men totaled 112.
Berard completed the 5.8 kilometer course in23:19 to cross the finish line 26th overall, but 11th in the team scoring as there were several runners competing unattached.
Fellow freshman Ashley Atkin timed a 23:44 for 19th in the scoring. Sophomore Nicole O'Dwyer was three spots behind her, scoring 22nd in 23:54. Seniors Nikki Larson (24:37, 27th) and Sari Little (24:45, 29th) rounded out the team scoring.
Freshman Cara Feldman was one spot behind Little, scoring 30th in 25:08, while freshman Amanda Cunningham placed 32nd in 25:26.
Sophomore John McCarthy again paced the men's team with his 17th place finish in the eight-kilometer race. He ran the course in 28:01 for 43rd overall, but again the men's race had a large group of unattached competitors.
Freshman Evan Bekes was the second Bear across the finish line, placing 21st in 28:16. Sophomore Cameron McQueen was two spots behind, in 23rd after running a 29:04 and fellow sophomore Kyle Kusmik timed a 29:23 for 25th. Freshman Alex Holm was the final team scorer, just one spot behind Kusmik with his time of 29:54.
Freshman John Cusick (27th, 30:17) and junior Derek Schneider (28th, 31:22) also both competed for the Bears, but finished just outside the top five.
The Bears next travel to Kansas to take part in the Fort Hays Invitational on Oct. 8. A year ago, the women took seventh and the men finished 10th.
