Men 9th, Women 13th at #ACCXC Championships

CLEMSON, S.C. — Earning its best finish since the 2008 season, the Clemson men’s cross country team took ninth place at the ACC Championships on Friday at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va. Syracuse won the men’s 8K competition, while North Carolina claimed the women’s 6K trophy. The Tiger women were 13th.

Aaron Ramirez staged a late charge in his final turn at the ACC Championships, and the graduate student took home the team’s top individual honors in 33rd place. He finished the tough 8K course with a time of 24:18.5, over a minute better than Clemson’s top time on the same course last month at the Panorama Farms Invitational.

“Aaron ran well today and really kept us in the mix at the end,” said head coach Mark Elliott. “It’s a tough course, and we’re in no way satisfied with our finishes. But it shows you the type of stiff competition we’re up against in the ACC. We’ll work to get better in a few weeks at the regional meet.”

James Dwyer showed great improvement, finishing 45^th Friday. The junior from Dunwoody, Ga., ran to a time of 24:28.9, nearly a minute better than his pace on the same course a month earlier. Roland Hakes (53rd) and Josh Davis (54th) finished back to back, half a second apart. Evan Abdullah rounded out the Tigers’ scoring efforts in 77th place.

Natoya Goule led the women’s team in her first ACC Championships race. She finished in 58th position with a 6K time of 21:41.1. Goule was followed by Grace Barnett (21:49.4), Evie Tate (21:53.3), Alexa Womack (22:16.3) and Catherine Herring (22:24.1).

Clemson’s season continues Nov. 14 at the NCAA Southeast Regionals in Louisville, Ky.

TEAM RESULTS

MEN

1. Syracuse, 32; 2. NC State, 90; 3. North Carolina, 95; 4. Virginia, 121; 5. Florida State, 158; 6. Virginia Tech; 7. Notre Dame, 189; 8. Louisville, 191; 9. Clemson, 245; 10. Georgia Tech, 277; 11. Wake Forest, 291; 12. Duke, 296; 13. Pittsburgh, 353; 14. Boston College, 435; 15. Miami, 500.

WOMEN

1. North Carolina, 57; 2. Florida State, 99; 3. Virginia, 109; 4. NC State, 119; 5. Notre Dame, 132; 6. Virginia Tech, 161; 7. Boston College & Syracuse, 162; 9. Wake Forest, 233; 10. Duke, 276; 11. Georgia Tech, 289; 12. Louisville, 290; 13. Clemson, 369; 14. Pittsburgh, 388; 15. Miami, 505.