GOLDEN SUNS FINISH 11TH AT SATURDAY'S GULF SOUTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP MEET

        HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Arkansas Tech’s Women’s Cross Country team finished 11th out of 15 teams here Saturday at the Gulf South Conference Cross Country Championships held at Sharon Johnston Park.

The Golden Suns, who battled injuries all season and ran the GSC Meet without three of its top runners, scored 304 points to finish 11 points in front of 12th place Delta State (315 points) and 26 points behind 10th place Henderson State (278 points).

Tech was without the services of junior Aoife Cooke (Youghal, Ireland), who was the defending GSC women’s individual champion, along with sophomore Kayla Waldrup (El Dorado, Ark.) and redshirt freshman Eimear O’Brien (Sligo, Ireland) at this year’s GSC Championships due to injuries.

Harding won the 15-team event as it place five of the top six finishers at the meet as the Lady Bisons scored 19 points, while Alabama-Huntsville finished second with 91 points.

Leading the way for Tech was sophomore Brianna Greene (Harrison, Ark.), who ran the 5,000-meter course in a time of 21:03 to finish in 43rd place. The time was her second fastest of the season.

Harding’s Janee Jones won the women’s individual title as she ran the course in a time of 17:49, while North Alabama’s Emry McKay finished second after running a time of 18:10.

Other Tech finishers in addition to Greene was freshman Melissa Pollreis (Gravette, Ark.), who ran a time of 21:13 to finish in 48th place and junior Jessica Miller (Van Buren, Ark.), who ran a time of 22:04 to finish in 65th place. Freshman Jessica Jervis (Cabot, Ark.) was the next Tech finisher as she finished in 72nd place after running the 5K race in a time of 22:27 and fellow classmate, Michelle Pollreis (Gravette, Ark.) ran a time of 22:39 to finish in 76th place. The final competitor for Tech was junior Molly Fleming (Cabot, Ark.), who ran a time of 27:12 to finish in 95th place.

Tech will now compete on Nov. 4 at the 2006 NCAA South Regional Meet in Memphis, Tenn.

         Complete GSC Championship Meet results

           -- Tech Athletics --