Thursday, October 06, 2011

MACON, Ga. – North Florida received all ten first-place votes from the Atlantic Sun Women's Cross Country Coaches in this week's poll. Lipscomb and Jacksonville trail the Ospreys for second and third, respectively. ETSU saw the only change in the poll as the Lady Bucs jumped into a tie with Kennesaw State for eighth place with 26 points.

This weekend, only FGCU and Stetson are the only teams competing. The Eagles travel to Orlando, Fla., for the Disney World Classic, while the Hatters go to nearby Daytona Beach for the Asics Embry-Riddle Classic.

Cross Country Notes:
• Two weeks after teammate Jemeli Sang set the USC Upstate 6K program record at the Clemson 6K Invitational, Joan Tangwar paced the Charlotte Invitational field in the 5K race with a program record time, 16:53.7, to win the race. Tangwar's performance won her the A-Sun Runner of the Week award - the fifth of her career. She ranks second all-time for A-Sun weekly honors amongst active conference members.

• North Florida led the charge in this week's USTFCCCA South Region rankings by improving two spots to No. 4 in the poll. Three other A-sun teams appeared in the poll with Lipscomb at No. 10, Belmont at No. 13 and Jacksonville at No. 15.

• Even though UNF won the team title at the FLRunners.com Invite, Jacksonville's Joane Pierre captured the individual title as she finished three seconds ahead of North Florida's Erin Nixon with a time of 17:35.20. In total, eight A-sun student-athletes placed in the top-10 of the meet.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an NCAA Division I league with 10 member institutions committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun meets the challenge of maintaining the highest standards in academic and athletic achievement with a true balance between student and athlete. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.