Dec. 16, 2011

2011 Cross Country Results

Tiger Women Earn School's Best Regional Finish Since 1993
Clemson fell just short in its bid to become the first cross country program at the school since the 1993 women's team to advance to the NCAA Championships. The Tiger women were fourth as a team, the program's best finish since that 1993 team placed third. Virginia won the women's team race with 117 points, followed by NC State with 123. North Carolina had 133 points to Clemson's 147. The Tigers entered the meet with a No. 4 regional ranking, so they held their position against a competitive field on Saturday, Nov. 12 in Louisville, KY.

Three runners received all-region honors, including a pair of seniors from the women's team.

Ruck's Third All-Region Honor puts her in Rare Company
Clemson graduate Kim Ruck put herself in rarified air on Saturday, Nov. 12 when she earned her third consecutive all-region accolade. She and Clemson Ring of Honor member Tina Krebs are the only female runners from Clemson to earn all-district or all-region status three times over the course of a career. Ruck was 11th in 2009 and sixth in 2010 in her previous all-region seasons. Krebs won all-district awards from 1982-84 for the Tigers.

The Greer, SC native had a bit of an up-and-down senior campaign in 2011, but she ended on a high note with a 25th-place effort at the Southeast Regionals in Louisville, KY. She also had a season-best time of 21:03.2 over the 6,000-meter course.

Kulik Earns Second Straight All-Region Accolade
Clemson senior Alyssa Kulik was consistently the top performer on the highly-competitive women's team. The Simpsonville, SC product led the Tigers in the final five meets of the 2011 season, including the two biggest meets on the schedule in the ACC Championships and Southeast Regionals. She earned her second straight all-region accolade by finishing eighth individually against a quality field. Kulik ran to a career-best cross country time in her final meet in a Clemson uniform, clocking a 20:34.3 over Louisville's 6K course.

Anthony Soars as a Sophomore
Clemson sophomore Natalie Anthony was far and away the most improved runner on the women's cross country team in 2011. She led Clemson in scoring at the Eye Opener to start the fall season, and scored in every subsequent meet for the Tigers as well. Anthony was seventh place at the Clemson Invitational on Sept. 16 with a time of 21:15.06 over Musser Farms' 6K course. Almost two months later, the Randolph, NJ native shaved 10 seconds off that with a personal best 21:05.9 at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park in Louisville, KY. She was 27th place, just two spots shy of her first all-region honor. Anthony was also the team's No. 3 runner at the ACC Championships in 32nd position.

Nationally-Ranked Tigers
The Clemson women broke into the national rankings for the first time in nearly 20 years when the coaches poll was released on Oct. 4. Clemson was ranked 30th for two weeks by the USTFCCCA, before falling out after the Wisconsin Invitational.

Clemson's women have also ranked among the top five in the Southeast Region each of the last eight weeks in 2011. The Tigers began the season No. 6, before falling to No. 7 on Sept. 12. Clemson ranked as high as third regionally, both in the Oct. 3 and Oct. 10 polls.

2011 ACC Championships Recap
The Clemson women finished sixth as a team at the ACC Championships on Saturday, Oct. 29. It was the program's highest finish at a conference meet since the 1999 team also placed sixth. At that time, however, the conference consisted of just nine teams.

The women's team used a balanced effort to score its best finish in 12 years. Clemson did not have anyone finish higher than 24th individually, but each of the team's top five scorers were also inside the top 40. Alyssa Kulik led with a time of 21:07.4 and the 24th-place showing, followed by Kate Borowicz (31st), Natalie Anthony (32nd), Kim Ruck (33rd) and Elyse Borisko (40th).

The men's team struggled to a 10th-place finish, but sophomore Ty McCormack was certainly a standout as he reached the podium as an all-conference performer.

The meet was the first ACC Championships held in Clemson in 10 years, and the first at the school's Musser Farms course.

McCormack Nabs First Career All-ACC, All-Region Honors

Clemson sophomore Ty McCormack became the first men's cross country runner to earn all-conference honors since Matt Clark in 2007 when he placed eighth at the ACC meet on Oct. 29.

McCormack did so in fine fashion, running to a lifetime best of 23:28.2 over Clemson's 8K course.

He was even better at the Southeast Regionals in Louisville on Nov. 12, 2011. The native of Gainesville, GA put together a time of 30:38 across a 10,000-meter distance. He finished in 18th place, good enough for his first all-region honor. He was Clemson's first all-region runner from the men's team since Matt Clark claimed the honor in 2007.

Borowicz Made an Impact After Transfer from Georgia Tech
After transferring from ACC rival Georgia Tech, Upstate South Carolina native Kate Borowicz made a name for herself in the fall for the Tiger cross country team.

Her best showing of the season was a time of 21:09.9 against an elite national field at the Wisconsin Invitational, and she followed up with a solid 31st-place outing at the ACC Championships at Clemson. She had a time of 21:14.9 over the Tigers' tough Musser Farms home course and was the team's No. 2 runner behind Alyssa Kulik.

Borowicz, who attended J.L. Mann High School in nearby Greenville, has a twin sister who competes for the University of South Carolina. She scored in five consecutive meets to end the 2011 season, including both the ACC Championships and Southeast Regionals.