Oct. 30, 2004

Women's 2004 OVC Cross Country Results
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Men's 2004 OVC Cross Country Results
Download Free Acrobat Reader

MARTIN, Tenn. - GO BULLDOGS!! The Samford University cross country teams competed today at the OVC Championships, hosted by UT Martin in Martin, Tenn. The women's team captured the 5K event with 15 points, while the men's team finished in fourth place with 93 points, as EKU captured the men's 8K event with 39 points. Lauren Blankenship was named 2004 OVC Female Athlete of the Year for her efforts, while Samford's Glenn McWaters was chosen to share the title of 2004 OVC Women's and Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year with Eastern Kentucky's Rick Erdmann.

"Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!" said head coach McWaters. "Today was an awesome day for the Bulldogs. "The race was slower than I expected due to muddy conditions, but the women's team performed great and the men's team performed better than I expected. We are extremely excited about today's finish, as we made history for the Samford cross country team record books."

On the women's side, the Bulldogs took the top five spots with Blankenship taking the individual crown with a time of 18:24.30. Samford's Britney Almaguer, who was named 2004 OVC Freshman of the Year, finished second with a time 18:40.05, Brittney Mensen placed third with a time of 18:49.87, Michelle Brewer finished fourth with a time of 19:05.33, Jessica Brewer placed fifth with a time of 19:09.16, Robyn DeBenedet finished seventh with a time of 19:19.22 and Connie Heiskell placed 12th with a time of 19:27.48.

On the men's side, Bryan Baddorf was the top Bulldog competitor, as he finished in fifth-place overall with a time 27:02.69. Drew Anderwald placed tenth with a time of 27:37.73, Scott Maurer finished 19th with a time of 28:08.90, Ricky McLain placed 29th with a time of 28:40.80, Michael Hanson finished 30th with a time of 28:46.89 and Ben Whitaker placed 53rd with a time of 31:19.74.

Cross Country will head to the NCAA Regionals on Saturday, Nov. 13, hosted by Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.