Sept. 15, 2007

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Men's and Women's Cross Country teams competed in a highly competitive meet at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee for the Commodore Classic hosted by Vanderbilt University. With predominately Division I schools, the Argos finished 8th in the men's 8k run, and 10th in the women's 5k run. Belmont was the team champion in the men's competition, followed by Georgia Tech. Meanwhile, the University of Missouri was the women's champion, as Georgia Tech finished second, and Vanderbilt third.

The Argos were the top Division II school to finish in both the men's and women's race. Diana Sitar (Sr. / Las Vegas) finished 26th in 5k (3.1 miles) run in a time of 19:21, while Justin Gates (Jr. / Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.) was 29th overall in the 8k (5 miles) run in a time of 27:15. The overall winner in the women's 5k run was Rita Jorgensen of Vanderbilt in a time of 18:07, while the overall men's champion was Henry Rop of Union University with a 25:15 for the 8k course.

Four out of the seven men ran their personal bests, while two of the women recorded personal bests. Coach Matt Dobson was proud of his team, "We are right on track, and that puts us in the hunt for a National Championship berth." The other UWF finishers in the Men's 8k run included: Nicholas Maedel (Fr. / Ridgeview, Fla.) 37th in 27:40, Jared Black (Fr. / Tallahassee, Fla.) 42nd in 27:59, Andrew Maedel (Fr. / Ridgeview, Fla.) 52nd in 28:53, Josh McEachin (Fr. / Tallahassee, Fla.) 54th in 29:06, Scott Lydick (Fr. / Fort Myers, Fla.) 59th in 29:42, and Tyler Stowell (Fr. / North Ft. Myers, Fla.) 69th in 30:59.

The other UWF finishers in the Women's 5k run included: Margaret Harter (Jr. / Milton, Fla.) 46th in 20:18, Katherine Ragia (Jr. / Daytona Beach Shores, Fla.) 49th in 20:23, Erika Anderson (Fr. / Mobile, Ala.) 65th in 21:43, Marisa DeFeo (Fr. / Orange Park, Fla.) 71st in 22:28, and Lindsey Failing (Sr. / Pace, Fla.) 75th in 22:48.