Cougars Outrun Hoyas, Wolfpack to Win Great American Festival

CHARLOTTE -- A solid sophomore class led the way for BYU as the Cougars ran away from No. 5 Georgetown and No. 8 North Carolina State to win the team title at the Great American Cross Country Festival. Sophomore Lindsey Thomsen nearly captured the individual title, battling it out with Kenya native Sylvia Chelimo of Gardner-Webb University over the last half mile of the race. Chelimo crossed the finish line in 16:55.7, less than two seconds ahead of Thomsen, who finished in 16:57.6 for the 5K course.

Another sophomore, Sarah Ellett, was the next runner to finish for the Cougars. Her 17:04.8 was good for fourth place overall, and senior All-American Sharolyn Shields (17:18.4) also recored a top-ten finish for BYU, coming in sixth. Redshirt freshmen Katie Martin (12th) and Nan Evans (14th) rounded out the scoring to give the Cougars a team total of 38.

North Carolina State was the only other team to finish three runners in the top ten, but the Wolfpack's fifth scorer finished in 21st place overall, deep enough to give BYU the winning edge.

After the race, coach Patrick Shane was pleased with his team's performance. He was especially optimistic about the future of his current number-one runner.

"I was just elated with Lindsey Thomsen's race today," Shane said. "She beat some of the best people in the country. If we can keep her healthy she's going to have a phenomenal year."

The Cougars will have one week to prepare for their next test as they compete again Saturday at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, California.

Great American X/C Festival
McAlpine Greenway Park, Charlotte, NC
September 23, 2000
Collegiate Womens 5K
   1.  Sylvia Chelim        Gardner-Webb     16:55.7     1
   2.  Lindsay Thompsen     Brigham Young    16:57.6     2
   3.  Sheela Agrawal       Duke             16:58.8     3
   4.  Sarah Ellet          Brigham Young    17:04.8     4
   5.  Autumn Fogg          Georgetown       17:13.4     5
   6.  Sharolyn Shields     Brigham Young    17:18.4     6
   7.  Ann Somerville       Michigan State   17:20.0     7
   8.  Lindsey Rogers       NC State         17:23.0     8
   9.  Katie Sabino         NC State         17:23.7     9
  10.  Christy Nichols      NC State         17:25.5    10
  11.  Katie Nowak          Ball St          17:26.6    11
  12.  Katie Martin         Brigham Young    17:29.3    12
  13.  Beth Fonner          NC State         17:30.1    13
  14.  Nan Evans            Brigham Young    17:31.3    14
  15.  Amy Beatty           Ball St          17:32.4    15
  16.  Kathy Kadziolka      Ball St          17:34.3    16
  17.  Lorena Adams         Georgetown       17:36.5    17
  18.  Jamie Krzyminski     Michigan State   17:39.1    18
  19.  Jill Braley          Furman           17:40.5    19
  20.  Megan Sullivan       Duke             17:46.4    20
  21.  Diana Henderson      NC State         17:49.0    21
  22.  Emily Enstice        Georgetown       17:49.6    22
  23.  Katie Atlas          Duke             17:50.9    23
  24.  Stacey Vidt          Virgina Tech     17:53.5    24
  25.  Kristen Gordon       Georgetown       17:55.1    25
  26.  Michelle Carson      Michigan State   17:55.4    26
  27.  Melanie Steere       Brigham Young    17:56.2    27
  28.  Erin Swain           NC State         17:58.1    28
  29.  Gretchen Folck       Ball St          18:03.7    29
  30.  Tara Haynes          Brigham Young    18:04.3    30
Team Results
1. Brigham Young            2,   4,   6,  12,  14 = 38
2. NC State                 8,   9,  10,  13,  21 = 61
3. Georgetown               5,  17,  22,  25,  35 = 104
4. Ball St                 11,  15,  16,  29,  36 = 107
5. Duke                     3,  20,  23,  34,  39 = 119
6. Michigan State           7,  18,  26,  40,  54 = 145
7. Virgina Tech            24,  31,  55,  57,  59 = 226
8. Furman                  19,  44,  56,  60,  71 = 250
9. UNC-Charlotte           33,  47,  63,  69, 110 = 322
10. UNC-Greensboro         37,  53,  75,  77,  84 = 326
11. UNC-Asheville          42,  68,  70,  78,  86 = 344
12. Charleston Southern    38,  46,  85,  94, 103 = 366
13. Campbell               45,  51,  72, 105, 111 = 384
14. Western Carolina       65,  76,  80, 101, 104 = 426
15. Davidson               52,  81,  89, 106, 107 = 435
16. Coastal Carolina       66,  79,  82,  99, 112 = 438
17. UNC-Wilmington         58,  90,  98, 100, 114 = 460
18. Gardner-Webb            1, 102, 127, 133, 134 = 497
19. Winthrop               43,  97, 122, 125, 126 = 513
20. Virg. Military Inst.   83,  91, 119, 124, 128 = 545
21. High Point-NC          96, 135, 141, 142, 147 = 661
22. Wofford               130, 136, 144, 148, 149 = 707