For Immediate Release
November 11, 2000


Smith Qualifies For National Race
RC Women 11th, Men 6th at Regional Meet

SALEM, VA— Roanoke College senior Casey Smith (Mechanicsville, VA/Atlee) qualified for the women’s Division III national cross country race with a sixth place finish at the South/Southeast Regional meet on Saturday morning. This is the second consecutive season in which Smith has qualified for the national race. Last season, she placed 21st overall at the national championship race, earning All-American honors. 

Overall, the Roanoke College women placed 11th at the regional race, which was hosted by Christopher Newport University. This is the fifth straight year the RC women have been 11th in the region. On the men’s side, the Maroons placed sixth in the team results.

Smith completed the race in 18:40, finishing behind five other runners. The top runner, Sarah Byrd from Emory (GA) University, had a time of 18:14. Smith will now run at the national meet in Spokane, WA next Saturday, November 18th. She looks to improve upon her time of 17:31 and 21st place finish at  last season’s race.

Also on the women’s side, junior Alli McVey earned All-Region honors with a 23rd place finish. Her time was 19:24. The Roanoke women accumulated 291 total points on the day. Emory was the overall winner with 56 points.

Blake Dalton led the Roanoke men across the line at the regional race. Dalton had a time of 26:46 and was 27th overall. Jason Belt was not far behind, running a 26:49 and taking home a 29th place finish. Laurence Loesel’s time of 26:55 was good enough for 31st place. The Roanoke men had 172 points on the day, trailing top place Emory, which had 52.


Complete Regional Cross Country Results