University of Georgia Athletics
Lady Bulldog Cross Country Team Nails Down First-Place Finish
September 15, 2006 | Cross Country
CULLOWHEE, N.C. --- The Georgia women's cross country team blazed its way to a first-place finish at the Western Carolina Open in Cullowhee, N.C., on Friday evening. On the men's side, the Bulldogs took second in the season-opening meet.
Led by senior Jill Steffens, who crossed the finish line third with a time of 13:52, the Lady Bulldogs finished with 19 points in the team standings with Appalachian State (36 points) and Milligan College (83) taking second and third, respectively.
Also finishing in the top 10 overall individually in the meet were junior Natalie Picchetti (third - 14:07), senior Kristin Heffelfinger (fourth 14:12), junior Sarah Madebach (seventh 14:45), junior Kiah Vernon (eighth 14:46) and junior Nicole DeMarco (10th 14:55).
"I wanted to see where the fitness level was for the women and the girls came out and performed very well," Georgia cross country coach Dave Hartman said. "They had a tough week of training this week and still responded well. They ran up to my expectations today and I think this sets us up for a great season."
Georgia's men finished second with 34 points, only four points behind the winning Appalachian State squad. East Tennessee State finished a distant third after tallying 93 points.
On the men's side, senior Sam Gillespie managed a third-place overall finish with a time of 19:39, while newcomer Matt Goodale clocked a 19:41 and took fourth. In addition, junior Charlie Dickhaus finished fifth (19:49), junior Matt Roberson took 13th (20:06) and sophomore Coleman Hoover notched a 14th-place finish after having a time of 20:08.
"I am very impressed with the men's effort today as well," Hartman said. "With two of our top five runners sitting this one out (Ian Burrell, Ryley Miller) because of different ailments, Matt Goodale, who is a transfer from High Point University, ran well and Charlie Dickhaus is really coming into this own for our team. I think the finish for the men tonight bodes well for what we can accomplish the rest of the season."
Both cross country teams get back on the course on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. in a dual meet with Western Carolina. Results from Saturday's meet will be able to be found at georgiadogs.com.
Women's Results
GEORGIA 19 points
Appalachian State 36
Milligan College 83
Gardner-Webb 96
UNC-Ashville 105
Western Carolina 126
Men's Results
Appalachian State 30
GEORGIA 34
East Tennessee State 93
Gardner-Webb 113
UNC-Ashville 134
Milligan College 151
Western Carolina 162