Point Park claims KIAC Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships
Point Park claims KIAC Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships
RESULTS -- Final (Official): WOMEN (5K) / MEN (8K)
RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- The Point Park University men's and women's cross country teams claimed the team titles on Saturday at the KIAC Cross Country Championships hosted by the University of Rio Grande. Both Pioneers teams advance to the NAIA National Championship Nov. 21 at Charlotte, N.C.
Rio Grande was the runner-up in both races, and Asbury University placed third in both races. The 11 KIAC women's teams competed in a 5K, and the 11 men's teams competed in an 8K.
Point Park sophomore Katie Guarnaccia was the women's KIAC individual champion with a time of 18:57 to lead the field of 82 runners by nine seconds. Point Park freshman Brian Moore was the men's KIAC individual champion with a time of 26:32 to lead the field of 93 runners by 21 seconds.
The top four individual finishers not from team champion Point Park qualified for the NAIA national meet as individuals. On the women's side, the individual NAIA qualifiers were Asbury's Katy Falkenberg in second place at 19:06, WVU Tech's Ivy Aleshire in third place at 19:22, Rio Grande's Lucy Williams in fourth place at 19:25 and IU Kokomo's Taryn Thor in fifth plact at 19:25.
The four individual NAIA qualifiers from the men's race were Rio Grande's Blake Freed in second place at 26:53, Rio Grande's Dallas Guy in third place at 26:53, IU Kokomo's Javier Vasquez in fourth place at 27:10 and Rio Grande's Mike Norris in fifth place at 27:14.
The women's team standings had Point Park win with a team score of 50 points. Rio Grande was next with 63 followed by Asbury with 91 and WVU Tech with 96 as the top four. Point Park placed its top five runners in the top 16 placements. Rio Grande led the meet with three runners in the top 10 but had its other runners finish further back. Asbury and WVU Tech had the second and third overall finishers but did not get any other runners in the Top 10.
In the men's team standings, Point Park led the field with 40 points. Next was Rio Grande with 53 in what was a two-team race. Asbury was third with 108. But Point Park gained control at the two-mile mark when its fifth runner was well ahead of Rio Grande's. Point Park had its top five runners all place in the top 12 spots. Rio Grande did claim four of the top seven placements.
The All-KIAC teams were named based on the championship meet results. The top seven finishers were named to the All-KIAC First Team, and finishers eight through 14 were named to the All-KIAC Second Team.
For complete and final results, click the links above. Note: Early results did not include first-year KIAC member Ohio Christian in the team or individual scoring. Team and individual scoring were adjusted to include OCU in the final results.
2015 KIAC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY AWARDS
Runner of the Year -- Katie Guarnaccia (So.) -- Point Park
Coach of the Year -- Kelly Parsley (1st Year) -- Point Park
Newcomer of the Year -- Ivy Aleshire (So.) -- WVU Tech
Comeback Runner of the Year -- Taryn Thor (Fr.) -- IU Kokomo
All-KIAC First Team
1 Katie Guarnaccia SO Point Park
2 Katy Falkenberg JR Asbury
3 Ivy Aleshire SO West Virginia Tech
4 Lucy Williams FR Rio Grande
5 Taryn Thor FR Indiana Kokomo
6 Brittany Sloan FR Indiana Kokomo
7 Sierra Vecchio SO Carlow
All-KIAC Second Team
8 Emily Maxwell SO Point Park
9 Keri Lawrence SO Rio Grande
10 Rachel Ball SO Rio Grande
11 Kim Miller SR Asbury
12 Madison Przicina FR Point Park
13 Ashley Czerniewski-Hagan JR Point Park
14 Halina Carrera JR West Virginia Tech
2015 KIAC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY AWARDS
Runner of the Year -- Brian Moore (Fr.) -- Point Park
Coach of the Year -- Kelly Parsley (1st Year) -- Point Park
Newcomer of the Year -- Brian Moore (Fr.) -- Point Park
Comeback Runner of the Year -- Dallas Guy (Jr.) -- Rio Grande
All-KIAC First Team
1 Brian Moore FR Point Park
2 Blake Freed JR Rio Grande
3 Dallas Guy JR Rio Grande
4 Javier Vasquez SR Indiana Kokomo
5 Mike Norris FR Rio Grande
6 Gary Olson FR Point Park
7 Matt Engstrom SR Rio Grande
All-KIAC Second Team
8 Kyle Benecke FR Ohio Christian
9 Blake Brooks FR Indiana East
10 Sean Hilverding FR Point Park
11 Chris Hunt SO Point Park
12 Connor Wright FR Point Park
13 Caleb Woodard JR Asbury
14 Sam Starnes FR Asbury
2015 KIAC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPION OF CHARACTER AWARD RECIPIENTS
Alice Lloyd College -- Jacob Medley, Shiloh Jekel
Asbury University -- Mason Lambert, Kim Miller
Brescia University -- Brent Crawford, Makenzie Jackson
Carlow University -- Chris Woodley, Sierra Vecchio
Cincinnati Christian -- William Grover, Hannah Moniger
IU East -- Adam Klipstine, Morgan Stanley
IU Kokomo -- Brad Jakes, Brooke Runyon
Ohio Christian -- Tim Allen, Anna Hambrick
Point Park -- Zane Kravec, Kelsey Wilkins
Rio Grande -- Matt Engstrom, Maggie Dellinger
WVU Tech -- Dominic Rich, Ivy Aleshire