LEXINGTON, Ky. – East Carolina closed out its 2021 cross country campaign at the NCAA Southeast Regional hosted by the University of Kentucky at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park. 

The women placed 20th as a team with a point total of 533 while the men were 19th with 553 points.

Lindsay Yentz was the top finisher for the Pirates on the women’s side, claiming 77th place in a 6K time of 22:06. All-American Athletic Conference performer Abby Yourkavitch was next in 102nd place, crossing the line in 22:27. Rounding out the top five were Jenna Strange (122nd), Lily Schlossberg (123rd) and Alyssa Zack (128th) who posted times of 22:43, 22:44 and 22:47.

“We did not have the day we hoped for on the women’s side,” head coach Josey Weaver said. “I’m proud of how our women stayed composed in the race even when things were not going as planned. This is not the end by any means for this team. With six of our seven runners returning, this should only be the start of what’s to come for ECU cross country. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish throughout the indoor/outdoor track seasons.”

Chase Osborne finished the 10K in a time of 31:39 for 96th place while Austin Mathews produced a time of 31:53 to slot 110th. The final three runners comprising the top five were Colin McCauley (114th/31:57), Matthew Russell (121st/32:09) and Ethan Hageman (147th/32:39).

“We saved our best performance of the year for our last meet,” Weaver stated. I’m really proud of how our men executed their race plan and stayed patient early on. We’re young up front and the race experience gained will be important in our development moving forward.”