Clemson Cross Country Begins Season

September 7, 1998

Junior Beth Ahern earned her first collegiate win at the Papas Pizza Invitational on Saturday in Cullowhee, NC, to lead Clemson to a second-place finish in the 1998 season-opener. Aherns personal-best time of 18:01 marked the eighth-fastest time ever run on the course, tying Tiger Gail Gouxs time from 1990 land North Carolina All-American Karen Godlocks time from 1993. Ahern earned top honors among the 121 competitors in the 5K race. Clemson finished the race with 62 points, finishing second to Tennessees 34 points. Junior Julianna Littman also placed in the top 10, finishing seventh with a time of 18:17, an improvement of 36 seconds off her time on the course last season. Junior Shannon Schoppmans personal-best time of 18:34 put her in 11th place, while Jennifer Meador placed 18th with a time of 19:09 to round out the Tigers top-20 finishers.

The Clemson mens cross country team opened the 1998 season with a sixth-place finish in the Papas Pizza Invitational, held on September 5 in Cullowhee, NC. The top six varsity runners were held out of the meet to continue their training for Clemsons upcoming meet at Virginia on September 19. Coach Pollock elected to challenge his freshmen with an opportunity to compete against experienced runners. Freshman Jason Meany from Liverpool, NY, led the Tigers, placing 13th with a time of 26:41. Freshman Ryan Demers placed 20th with a time of 27:02. David Abels time of 27:36 put him in 31st place, while Clay Wiggins placed 40th with a time of 27:52.

MEET RESULTS

Papas Pizza Invitational

Cullowhee, NC

September 5, 1998

Womens Results – 5K 62 team points

1. Beth Ahern 18:01 7. Julianne Littman 18:17 11. Shannon Schoppman 18:34 18. Jennifer Meador 19:09 25. Brantley Epps 19:22 36. Jessica Hyams 19:43 41. Abbey Hartman 19:59 43. Karen Lestitian 10:05 44. Ann Stowell 20:05 68 Julie Stackhouse 21:03

Mens Results – 5 miles 129 team points

13. Jason Meany 26:41 20. Ryan Demers 27:02 31. David Abel 27:36 40. Clay Wiggins 27:52 59. Kevin Bulla 28:40