Azalea City Classic – Collegiate Results
Azalea City Classic - High School Results
Azalea City Classic - Junior Varsity Results
 
MOBILE, Ala. – Sophomore Patrick Rohr captured top individual honors for the second time in his career to help lead the University of South Alabama men's cross country program to a team victory in the 39^th annual Azalea City Classic at the Mobile County Fairgrounds Saturday.
 
In the first race of the day, Rohr crossed the finish line with a time of 24:42.85 in the 8k to lead the field by more than 11 seconds.  Joe Gratton (25:03.42), Robert Mann (25:08.66) and Ian Bordelon (25:23.25) combined for a 3-4-5 finish, while Daniel Carter (eighth, 25:28.54) also cracked the top 10 to help seal the USA victory.
 
Alex Shields (11^th, 25:46.01), Buddy Soto (13^th, 25:55.79) and Derek Westbrook (15^th, 26:14.47) completed the lineup for the men's squad as each individual finished in the top 15 in a field of 53.
 
With five top-10 finishers, the Jaguar men combined for 21 team points and tallied half as many as conference opponent and runner-up Louisiana-Lafayette (42 pts.).
 
"I thought all of the guys raced pretty well today," said head cross country coach David Barnett.  "We're always looking for our guys to race to their full potential, and that's what everybody did today.  And of course any time you can win, that's just icing on the cake."
 
On the women's side, Kristin Parry paced USA in the 6k competition with a runner-up finish, clocking in at 21:24.61.  Nicole Durham (14^th) was the next best finisher for the Lady Jags with a time of 22:18.22.
 
Shannen Weyer (18^th, 22:32.55), Ivy Chastain (19^th, 22:44.03) and Joanna McCoy (20^th, 22:44.36) rounded out the top 20 in the 65-woman field.  Also finishing for USA were Ashley Heitling (23:08.05), Kayla Wheeler (23:58.05) and Alivia Bryars (24:10.24).
 
The women's team compiled 73 total points to finish second overall to UAB, who recorded 20 points after taking four of the top five spots in the race.
 
"This was the longest race any of our freshmen have ever run, so I thought they competed really well," Barnett stated.  "I think they're going to keep getting better, and I'm looking forward to their future races.
 
"I thought the meet was a success.  There were a lot of people out here enjoying themselves, and I was very pleased with how it came together."
 
"Our men's team did really well today, and I think we're going to continue to be very competitive this season," said head coach Paul Bruekse.  "On the women's side, we're very young.  We have four freshmen on the team, and they're going to keep getting better and better.  Those guys finished second only to UAB, who is the cream of the crop in Conference USA.  So I think we're headed in the right direction, and overall it was a great day."
 
The Jaguars return to action in two weeks when they travel to Louisville, Ky., for the Greater Louisville Classic Oct. 5.
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
 
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