Results
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Royals Cross Country teams opened their season at the 2013 Furman Cross Country Classic in Greenville, S.C., on Saturday with good individual performances including two third place finishes in the Division II, III and NAIA classifications.
In the women's 6K run senior Andrea Guerra showed a glimpse of the success she is capable of this season finishing in third place in a time of 22:12.81. Mathilde Timboni was the Royals next highest finisher coming in 16th place with a time of 23:53.91. Soyoung Oh, in her first collegiate race, finished with a time of 24:48.18, good enough for 33rd place overall.
Head Coach Jim Vahrenkamp was excited about the women's results saying, "I could not be more pleased with the results today. Andrea looked as good as ever and competed well today. Mathilde showed excellent early form, a little ahead of last year. Our freshman responded well today and it was a great race to gauge our early season form."
In the team results the Royals were impressive finishing in third place only behind Emory and Mount Olive in the Division II, II and NAIA classification. With an average time of 24:24.85, the Royals will have this performance to build on as they look forward to the rest of the season.
In the men's 8K run junior Felix Duchampt rose to the occasion placing third in a time of 24:41.35.
Vahrenkamp was very happy with Duchampt's run stating, "He showed good early season form, and was very competitive in this field of Division I and II runners."
The freshman duo of James Hollingsworth and Jake Betancourt also claimed top 20 finishes. Hollingsworth's time of 25:49.94 was good enough for 14th place, while Betancourt finished 16th in a time of 25:57.46.
"Jake and James ran close to each other all day," Vahrenkamp said. "This is a new distance for them in the 8k and a great opportunity to get their feet wet."
In the overall team classification the Royals finished in fourth place in the field of Division II, III and NAIA institutions with an average time of 26:26.29.
Queens University of Charlotte's next competition will be in Charlotte, N.C., on September 28 at the UNC-Charlotte Cross Country Invite.
