South Carolina Gamecocks

Oct. 15, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The South Carolina cross country team has entered the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Southeast Regional rankings for the first time this season at No. 8, the USTFCCCA announced Monday.

The Gamecocks vaulted into the rankings after finishing third at Saturday's NCAA Preview Meet in the Women's Black Unseeded 6K race at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. South Carolina freshman Kayla Lampe won the race by 11.3 seconds with a personal record of 21:03.5, and senior Chelsea France finished 10th with the second fastest time of her career (21:35.4) to lead the way. The No. 8 ranking is the highest regional ranking of head coach Stan Rosenthal's 12-year tenure at South Carolina.

"I am very excited for the team," Rosenthal said. "They have been working very hard to get better. We had a great race Saturday and it is good to be rewarded for their efforts."

Saturday's preview of the 2012 NCAA Championship was the final race of the regular season for South Carolina. The Gamecocks will now prepare for the SEC Championship, which will be held on Oct. 26 at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tenn.

USTFCCCA Southeast Regional Rankings
Rank	School		  Location		Conference   Last Week
1	Duke		  Durham, N.C.		ACC	     5
2	William and Mary  Williamsburg, Va.	Colonial     1
3	NC State	  Raleigh, N.C.		ACC	     2
4	North Carolina	  Chapel Hill, N.C.	ACC	     3
5	Kentucky	  Lexington, Ky.	SEC	     4
6	Virginia	  Charlottesville, Va.	ACC	     6
7	Clemson		  Clemson, S.C.		ACC	     7
8	South Carolina	  Columbia, S.C.	SEC	     NR
9	Virginia Tech	  Blacksburg, Va.	ACC	     NR
10	Appalachian State Boone, N.C.		Southern     8
11	James Madison	  Harrisonburg, Va.	Colonial     12
12	Elon		  Elon, N.C.		Southern     13
13	Liberty		  Lynchburg, Va.	Big South    9
14	East Carolina	  Greenville, N.C.	C-USA	     14
15	Richmond	  Richmond, Va.		Atlantic 10  10