October 10, 2009

Four Pacers Finish in Top 26 at 2009 Asics Classic

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - USC Aiken's Jani Linde and Nicole Maitland both finished in the top 12 at the 5K 2009 Asics Classic hosted by Embry-Riddle on Saturday morning.

The Embry-Riddle women's cross country team won the 2009 Asics Classic, placing four of the top five runners in the race and coming away with a perfect score of 15.

In an event that finished a plethora of runners from different institutions, USC Aiken and Embry-Riddle were the only two teams competing for the team crown at the 2009 Asics Classic. The Pacers had a total team time average of 24:41.49 to finish second.

Linde (Columbia, S.C./Dublin Coffman) acquired her sixth straight top 10 individual finish in the Embry-Riddle event with a 10^th place finish. Linde concluded the Asics Classic with a time of 21:29.61 to finish 10^th.

As has been the case in every race but one in 2009 for the Pacers, Maitland (Chapin, S.C./Chapin) finished right behind Linde, coming in 12^th with a time of 21:33.78.

The Pacers had four runners end their efforts in the top 26 with Nikki Sidaway (Wiley Ford, W.Va./Potomac State) coming in 24^th and Nancy Meabon (Charlotte, N.C./Hickory Grove Christian) finishing 26^th. Sidaway concluded the Asics Classic with a time of 24:44.46, while Meabon recorded a time of 25:18.02.

USC Aiken will next run in the inaugural intercollegiate event at Pacer Path, which is USC Aiken's four-mile-long, 15-feet-wide grass and earth multipurpose fitness trail, located on property adjacent to the USCA Convocation Center.

The Pacer Relays are slated to get underway at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Pacer Path. The facility is built to NCAA standards and is the only cross country course at a Peach Belt Conference School.