by Benny Benton
CONCORD, N.C. – The Barton College women's cross country team placed three runners in the top 16 and all five scoring runners among the top 28 in claiming third place at the 2013 Conference Carolinas Championship Friday at Frank Liske Park.
A trio of juniors – Angelica Del Real, Ericka Skinner and Teal McLean – paced the Lady Bulldogs, which finished third for the second straight year. Del Real and Skinner earned all-conference honors for top-15 finishes, while McLean missed the designation by one spot.
The top three teams finished in the same order as the 2012 race. King University, ranked No. 4 in the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Top-10 Poll, took first place with 45 points. Mount Olive College, ranked No. 6 in the region, was runner-up again with 60 points, followed by the Lady Bulldogs with 93.
Although it did not catch those two programs, Barton did cut into their winning margins. Last year, King finished 74 points ahead of the Lady Bulldogs and Mount Olive was 60 points better, but Barton closed the gap this year to 48 and 33, respectively.
Barton was led by Del Real, a junior transfer who posted a time of 19:24.49 on the 5K layout to place 10th among 78 runners in her first Conference Carolinas Championship. Skinner posted a season-best time of 19:39.55 to finish 14th and earn all-conference recognition for the third time. McLean recorded a time of 19:55.49 to come in 16th, roughly eight seconds behind Emily Shaw of Mount Olive for the 15th and final all-conference slot.
Lauren Andreola, who led the Lady Bulldogs in last year's meet, improved her time by 30 seconds from 2012, from 21:07 down to 20:37.67. However, because of a deeper field this season, Andreola's better performance in 2013 resulted in a 25th-place finish, compared to 17th a year ago.
The final scoring runner for Barton was junior Cimone Barbour, who raced to a season-best time of 20:40.24 to finish 28th. The time was a 53-second improvement on her result from a year ago.
Also competing in the event for the Lady Bulldogs were Andrea Roca (21:10.75, 35th), Lauren Yoho (21:45.54, 45th), Heather Cuddington (21:59.97, 47th) and Tikycia Young (23:00.59, 62nd). The time for Yoho was her best of the season.
As a team, Barton finished 29 points ahead of two teams that tied for fourth pace, North Greenville University and Belmont Abbey College. Rounding out the 10-team field were Converse College (144), Pfeiffer University (183), Erskine College (185), Limestone College (209) and Lees-McRae College (322).
Barton will return to action on Nov. 9, when it competes in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte. The race, which will determine the individual and team qualifiers for the NCAA Division II National Championship, will be 6K in length for the women. Barton finished 11th among 30 squads in the Royal Cross Country Challenge, a 5K race on the same course two weeks ago.
Conference Carolinas Championship (Women's 5K)
93 – Barton (3rd/10)
19:24.49 – Angelica Del Real (10th/78)
19:39.55 – Ericka Skinner (14th)
19:55.49 – Teal McLean (16th)
20:37.67 – Lauren Andreola (25th)
20:40.24 – Cimone Barbour (28th)
21:10.75 – Andrea Roca (35th)
21:45.54 – Lauren Yoho (45th)
21:59.97 – Heather Cuddington (47th)
23:00.59 – Tikycia Young (62nd)
