Ruck Paces Tiger Cross Country at Pre-Nationals

Oct. 16, 2010

TERRE HAUTE, IN – Clemson junior Kim Ruck placed 22nd in the individual blue race at the Pre-NCAA Nationals to lead the Tiger cross country program on Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course. The Tiger women’s team placed 22nd out of 38 teams, while the men were 33rd in the highly-competitive meet.

Ruck produced a time of 20:46.7 in her first 6000 meter competition of the 2010 fall season. Ruck was 22nd in the blue race, one of two women’s 6K events on the day. She has been Clemson’s top finisher in all three events so far this season.

Clemson’s No. 2 runner on Saturday was Alyssa Kulik, who turned in a time of 21:25.9 and finished in 70th place. Kulik has been a solid No. 2 for the Tigers all season long. Stephanie Buffo (126th, 21:53.9), Alyssa Henshaw (158th, 22:13.6) and Natalie Anthony (167th, 22:18.6) rounded out the scoring efforts for the Clemson women at the Pre-Nationals race.

The men struggled in the 8K on Saturday. Ty McCormack once again was the team’s top performer, but he finished in 68th place with a time of 24:38.4. There was a wide gap between McCormack and the rest of his teammates. Chris Slate was 190th with a time of 25:59.3. The final three scoring spots belonged to Blake Kennedy, Nic Tones and Nathan Hendershot.

The teams return to action in two weeks to compete at the ACC Championships in Boston, MA.