McCormack, Ruck Lead Tiger Cross Country at ACC Championships

Oct. 30, 2010

TheACC.com Video Highlights | Men’s Results | Women’s Results

BOSTON – Ty McCormack’s 15th-place individual finish in the men’s 8K competition led the Clemson cross country teams on a cool, windy Saturday morning at Franklin Park at the ACC Championships. McCormack was the fourth-highest finishing freshman on Saturday at the event, racing to a personal best 8K time of 24:12.5. He was one spot shy of earning his first All-ACC accolade.

The women finished in the same team position as they did at the 2009 meet that was held in Cary, NC. The Tigers were three points shy of seventh in the team race. The men’s squad finished in 10th place, led by McCormack’s solid individual effort. Clemson was a mere 16 team points from finishing seventh in that race as well, an illustration of how tight the racing was Saturday.

The women’s team was led by junior Kim Ruck, who finished 19th in the individual race. She put together a time of 21:02.2 in the cool conditions. It was the third straight year Ruck has finished in the top 25 individually at the ACC Championships. Last year she was All-ACC after a ninth-place effort.

Alyssa Kulik continued her improvement with a 28th-place finish on Saturday. She posted a time of 21:12.8, a personal best over a 6,000m distance. Kulik improved by 44 positions over last season’s finish at the ACC meet. The team’s No. 3 scorer Saturday was senior Stephanie Buffo, who came across the line in 49th place with a time of 21:57.4.

The final two scorers that counted for the women’s team on Saturday were sophomore Sarah Turman and red-shirt freshman Elyse Borisko. In her second straight scoring effort at the conference meet, Turman was 60th with a time of 22:13.9. Borisko finished 68th with a time of 22:26.7.

On the men’s side, McCormack improved several spots over the final stages of the race to earn his finish Saturday. There was a large disparity between Clemson’s top two finishers, as senior Chris Slate came across the line 53rd as the Tigers’ No. 2 man. Slate produced a time of 25:20.1. Nic Tones was the team’s third-best finisher in 72nd place (25:51.5).

The Tigers return to action in two weeks to compete at the NCAA Southeast Regionals in Louisville, KY.