RADFORD MEN PLACE THIRD AT BIG SOUTH, POOLE EARNS ALL-CONFERENCE

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Men's Results | Women's Results

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – With four runners placing in the top 20 and led by Frisco Poole's all-conference performance, the Radford men's cross country team took third place at the Big South Championships on Friday, its highest finish since 1998.

After fourth-place finishes the last two seasons, the Highlanders overtook High Point for the third spot, finishing with 87 points, compared to 103 for the Panthers, who were outside the top three for the first time in 17 years.

Radford, meanwhile, put itself in the top third of the conference for the first time since 1990, as its only third-place finishes after that had come with fewer than nine teams in the league.

"We are thrilled with the result," head coach Eric Thatcher said. "Our men certainly learned the importance of consistently working at a championship level to race a championship result with the whole season on the line. We have great expectations for an improved result at regionals."

Individually, Poole placed 10th in the 83-runner field to become the first male Highlander to earn All-Conference cross country honors since Dawit Legesse did so three straight years from 2006-08. Poole clocked an 8K time of 25:58.73 despite battling an shin injury.

He was backed up by four teammates who all finished in the top 25 in the race. Ashenafi Kidanu just missed the all-conference mark by two spots, but settled for 14th position, crossing the line in 25:58.73. Cameron Mims took the 18th spot with a time of 26:40.97 and Haben Zemichael placed 20th in 26:48.78. Mak Casey rounded out Radford's scoring in 25th and clocked a time of 27:13.47.

"Our men race with such conviction," Thatcher said. "Without any returning guys, we were the least experienced team, but we executed our race strategy to perfection. "Frisco ran well with the other all-conference guys and Ashenafi raced with amazing guts. Cameron was aggressive from the start and Haben and Mak moved up well in the second half."

The 87-point total was also the Highlanders' lowest in the event since 1998 and 33 less than last year. Campbell won its second straight title with 37 points, just ahead of Liberty (31).

The Radford women were without senior Courtney Burton, who was unable to compete due to ankle injury, and placed sixth overall with 171 points. Fellow senior Courtney Rice led the way with a season-best time of 19:49.14 to take 26th position, matching her finish from last season.

Percie Lyons crossed the line next for the Highlanders and also had her top 5K time of the season, 19:56.36, to place 29th – up nine spots from last year's meet - while Mariah Quintero was 36th in 20:11.89. Sarah Riley and Allison Brennan rounded out the top five and finished back-to-back in 48th and 49th. Running her first 5K of the season, Riley recorded a time of 20:54.13, while Brennan followed in 20:55.19, her fifth personal-best performance in as many races this season.

"Our women handled the loss of a senior captain to a last-minute injury really well," Thatcher said.

Rice earned her second straight All-Academic Team honor, while Kidanu collected the award on the men's side.

The teams will be back in action next Friday as they compete in the Hokie Open, preparing for the Southeast Regional meet in two weeks.

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