With a 10th place overall finish in the Colonial Athletic Association cross country championships last weekend, sophomore Alex Boseman was the first University of North Carolina Wilmington runner to earn All-CAA honors in 19 years.
Boseman’s run of 25:10 over the 8K course was the highlight for the UNCW cross country teams, as both the men’s and women’s teams finished in last place at the conference run, which this year was held at Laurel Hill Plantation in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
“Alex ran a fantastic race,” said Layne Schwier, UNCW’s interim cross country coach., in an Oct. 31 press release. “We thought he was capable of that and it worked out. He ran strong throughout, despite a blistering start by the frontrunners. We couldn’t be more proud of him.”
For Bosemen, it was his fifth consecutive race as the Seahawk’s top finisher. By placing in the top 12, he earned the all-conference honors, making him the first UNCW men’s runner to do so since Frank Gagliano finished eighth in 1997.
“Alex has had a great season and has been racing and training well,” Schwier said.
The sport continued to be dominated by William & Mary, as the Tribe men won their 16th straight conference title and the women finished first for the fourth straight season.
Despite the disappointing finish, the Seahawks cross country program has the promise of youth, as its top men’s and women’s finishers are both sophomores.
Sarah Hamon, a sophomore from Cary, North Carolina, was the top women’s runner, with a 43rd place finish, an improvement over her 53rd place finish in the prior season’s CAA championship. She ran the 6K course in 22:48. Senior Dakota Foskey was UNCW’s next best finisher, posting a time of 23:20. Runners from William & Mary took the top three spots in the race, easily winning the championship over the eight other conference women’s teams.
“The women’s race went as I feared,” Schwier said. “We knew going in that we had to hit on all cylinders to have any chance of beating anyone today and it didn’t happen. We had some injury concerns and one worked out and one didn’t. We’re very disappointed and can come up with a lot of excuses, but won’t. We just need to get better, plain and simple.”
Other underclassmen had promising runs for the Seahawks cross country team, including a runner with local roots. Sophomore Calvin Daughtry, a product of E.A. Laney High School, was the next best finisher on the men’s team, coming in 24th with a time of 26:03.
There’s one more race this season for the Seahawks’ cross country teams as they travel to Richmond on Nov. 13 for the NCAA Southeast Regional race.
email [email protected]
