Cross Country Wrap Up C-USA Championships; Kappeler Makes All-Conference Team

Final Men's Results
Final Women's Results

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Florida Atlantic University men's and women's cross country teams took on a challenging course at Kereiakes Park, site of the 2019 Conference USA Championships Saturday morning. The men's team commenced the day with the 8K, finishing in 10th place, as Lachlan Shiver led the way individually in 34th. On the women's side, the team finished eighth overall, their best finish since being a member of C-USA. After finishing 16th, Madlen Kappeler made the C-USA All-Conference Third Team, the first honor for FAU since their first year in the conference in 2013.

Coach Smolka's Take

On the Day:
"The goal is perfection, but that is virtually unattainable, said head coach Alex Smolka. "Today was a good day, but it left room for improvement!"

On the Men:
"Lachlan [Shiver] finished higher than any FAU runner since we joined C-USA. The men overall ran our fastest average time on the WKU course since we first ran here in 2007. (We also ran here in '08, '10, '11, '12 and '15). There are a lot of positives, yet we still have a lot of work to do, and the team and coaching staff is looking forward to the future!"

On the Women:
"Finishing 8th is an all-time high since joining C-USA. Madlen [Kappeler] finishing 16th in her freshman year is awesome and our team average of 18:58 is the lowest ever on the WKU course, which is the hilliest course we have raced on! At the same time, we are not satisfied and have a hungry, hardworking group of student-athletes who are looking forward to continuously moving up in the conference standings!"

Final Remarks:
"I would like to thank our administrators who came to the meet to cheer us on! We are very fortunate to have a leadership team that cares deeply about the well-being of our student-athletes! The future looks bright!"

Quick Hits – Women (5K)

Kappeler continues to build upon the success she has been brewing all season long. The first-year Owl finished in 17:50.9, which was enough for 16th place and marked the third fastest time in FAU history, as well as a new personal record
Megan Giovanniello followed Kappeler in 57th place with a time of 19:06.6
Jordan Stevens (19:11.2) and Lauren Macon (19:16.8) finished in 60th and 63rd, respectively. Both achieved new personal records
Mikaela Jonsson finished in 66th (19:22.7) with Morgan Sharp following in 67th (19:25.5)

Quick Hits – Men (8K)

Shiver was the top finisher for the Owls, crossing the finish line at 25:40.9 for 34th place. His finish marks the best for the men's program since the Owls joined C-USA in 2013, as well as the fourth fastest in program history
Preston Dunn was the next Owl to finish, coming in at 49th (26.20.1). His time was the 10th fastest in the FAU charts
Sean Barone took 68th place (27:11.2)
Nolan Meuret (28:15.4) and Rory Carmody (28:47.9) captured FAU personal records Saturday morning

Up Next

The Owls will spend the next two weeks preparing for NCAA South Regionals hosted by Florida State in Tallahassee. More information on the championships can be found here with live results accessible here. For complete coverage of FAU cross country and track & field, follow along on Twitter (@FAU_XC_Track) and Instagram (@FAUXC.TF).

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