Clemson Men’s Cross Country Finishes Third At Southeast Regional Championships

Nov. 13, 2004

GREENVILLE, NC – The Clemson men’s cross country team placed third at the 2004 Southeast Region Championships held Saturday at Lake Kristi in Greenville, NC. The Tigers finished just four points out of second place and an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships to be held Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, IN. Clemson will await word of an at-large invitation to the national meet. The third-place finish for the Tigers is the best by a Clemson men’s cross country team since a second-place finish in 1988. Should Clemson advance as a team to the 2004 NCAA Championships, it will be the first appearance for the Tigers since 1988 when they placed fourth nationally.

“I am very proud of the way the team performed today,” said head coach Bob Pollock. “We narrowly missed an automatic bid to nationals, but I am optimistic about our chances for an at-large invitation. Itay and Derrick will go to nationals regardless of the team results, but our goal this year was to advance as a team to the NCAA meet. We have had some great results this season, especially at the Pre-NCAA meet when we defeated several ranked teams, including William & Mary who finished ahead of us today. I am hopeful that the committee will look at those results and decide that Clemson has earned a place at the NCAA Championships.”

The Tigers’ Itay Magidi and Derrick Wyatt will advance to the NCAA Championships per their top-five finishes at the region meet. Both Magidi and Wyatt earned all-region honors, as did Matt Clark, who finished 14th. Clemson head coach Bob Pollock was named Southeast Region Coach of the Year for his team’s accomplishments this season.

In the team race, NC State captured the region title with 81 points, and William and Mary took runner-up honors with 99 points. Clemson’s 103-point tally placed the Tigers third, while fellow ACC teams Virginia and Duke rounded out the top five with 118 and 129 points, respectively.

Individually for the Tigers, Itay Magidi earned his first all-region honor with a second-place finish and time of 30:11.7. Matt Pimentel covered the 10K course in 31:54.1 to place 55th as the Tigers’ five man. Sean Reilly recorded a time of 32:07 to finish 66th and Brian Soder was 72nd with a time of 32:09.7 in his first region race.

Clemson Individual Results 2. Itay Magidi – 30:11.7 5. Derrick Wyatt – 30:19.2 14. Matt Clark – 30:37.1 27. Ryan Fenton – 31:09.0 55. Matt Pimentel – 31:54.1 66. Sean Reilly – 32:07.0 72. Brian Soder – 32:09.7