Saturday was the opening date for the Women’s and Men’s Cross Country teams of VSU. The teams traveled to Due West, SC to compete in the Erskine Invitational were the women’s field was 9 teams strong and the men’s field was 8 deep. The results are pleasing.
The women ran first sporting a good combination of veteran and new team members. The distance covered over a European style course was 4K [2.48 miles]. Jordanne Helton [16:40] and Angelina Horne [16:44] placed 5th and 6th respectively overall out of 68 competitors. The overall champion ran 16:12.0, Rosa Young of Spartanburg Methodist. Ashley Luther [17:42] placed 17th, senior’s Neka Gibbs [17:59] and Ashley Hiott [18:40] placed 20th and 28th. 31st was earned by Tiffany Zuganelis [18:58], and Ashley Claassen placed 51st and Andrea Smith placed 65th. The Lady Blazers placed third with 71 points while Pfeiffer was the winning team with 52 points.
As the sun continued to climb to warm up the South Carolina atmosphere, the men prepared to battle teams over the 6K distance [3.72 miles] who had either beaten the Blazer’s in 2008, or were ranked in the preseason region polls. Mars Hill and host Erskine College are ranked 4th and 6th in the Southeast Region and proceeded to place 1st and 2nd in the meet with scores of 43 and 51. VSU placed 3rd in the team competition with 64, while a team that beat the Blazers twice last year placed 4th with 105 points. Chris Rice [20:42] led the team placing 6th overall while Erskine harrier Adam Groblewski won the meet with a time of 19:49. Austin McDonald [21:12] and seniors Alan McGough [21:13] and Steve Cary [21:44] placed 9th, 10th and 15th in the field of 62 people. Corey Stejback [22:42], Terence Boyd [23:17], Kenny Brooks [23:33], Marc Kaiser [24:49] and Daniel McCormick [24:53] all placed in the top 50 with Stejback leading the way in 25th.
Next up for the teams is a trip to Memphis, TN to compete against 34 others DI and DII teams at Christian Brothers University’s Twilight Invitational. The women will compete at the 5K distance while the men go up to 4 miles.
More information about events in the surrounding area of South Georgia contact Get Active Running and more at 229-219-0010 or acourseline@earthlink.net. :
Local Sports
Column: VSU cross country takes third place
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VSU teams hosting summer camps
The national champion Valdosta State softball team will host two separate summer camps this summer, as well as weekly clinics throughout the summer.
The two summer camps will be held on June 11-13 and July 9-11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The camps will cost $100 each. -
David Dean Youth Camp begins next week
The David Dean Youth Football Camp is quickly approaching.
The fourth annual camp will be held May 29-June 1 at the Athletic Fieldhouse off Mary Street. -
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck Valdosta State head softball coach Thomas Macera was rewarded with a new Toyota Tacoma from Valdosta Toyota on Wednesday for his team’s 4-1 victory over the University of California-San Diego in the Division II Softball National Championship Game.
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Valwood’s Savino, Elliott named All-State soccer
Two Valwood boys’ soccer players have been named to the GISA Class AA All-State team.
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All-American again
Go ahead and add another award to resume of this year’s Valdosta State softball team.
Between conference player of the week awards, a national player of the week award, All-Conference and All-Region honors and four All-American awards, the national champion Blazers had plenty of individuals honored for performances throughout the season, which ultimately led to VSU’s first ever softball national title. -
Local area events coming soon
Several local area runs will take place in the coming weeks.
Monday, May 28, there will be a Memorial Day 5K, which will begin at 8 a.m. from the VECA School located on the corner of Azalea Drive and College Street. -
Tech bound
Donjahae Jones gets it done in the classroom and on the track.
One of the top students in her class, and one of the top track and field competitors in the state, Jones will be taking her talents to the Division I level after she signed a track and field scholarship with Georgia Tech on Tuesday. -
Blazers garner All-Region honors
Two Valdosta State baseball players have been named All-South Region while a third has garnered Academic All-Region, according to announcements made by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the Collegiate Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA) this week.
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Lowndes' Phelps named tennis Coach of the Year
Lowndes tennis coach Heath Phelps has been named the Region 1-AAAAA girls’ and boys’ tennis Coach of the Year, after he guided both teams to region championships.
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Wildcats close spring practice
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats put their finishing touches on spring practice Saturday night with the playing of their annual spring game at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
No score was kept in the game, but the Wildcats did play best-on-best, pitting the starting offense against the starting defense. - More Local Sports Headlines
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VSU teams hosting summer camps
