By Matt Bradshaw —

Following a series of successful fall meets, Dorcas Wasike took first place at the 2018 ACC Cross Country Championship this past Friday. The junior became U of L cross country’s first ACC Champion and the first to win an individual conference championship since 2013.

“My hat goes off to Dorcas Wasike for picking up our first ever ACC individual cross country championship,” head coach Dale Cowper said. “She was simply outstanding today and was able to hold off a strong field of contenders from NC State and Notre Dame.”

Wasike trailed Anna Rohrer of Notre Dame for the first half of the 6k race then pulled away around the three-mile mark. She earned All-ACC honors for the third time of her career with her winning time (20:08.1) eight seconds ahead of NC State’s Elly Henes (20:16.3) and 11 seconds ahead of Rohrer (20:19.2).

The championship performance marked Wasike’s fourth victory this fall and the third consecutive season she has finished in the top-10 at the conference meet. After a runner-up performance in last year’s championships, an ACC victory was Wasike’s goal from the start of the 2018 season.

“My goal, individually, is to win the ACC,” Wasike said at preseason media day. “Last year I was second, but if I win this time that would be great.”

Overall, the women’s team finished 10th place in the championship standings.

Emmanuel Cheboson continued a standout freshman year by leading the men’s team with a 15th-place finish. Cheboson earned All-ACC honors for his 24:05.9 time in the 8k race and the men finished 10th overall in the standings.

“Emmanuel led our men’s squad to a significant improvement from last October and the future is bright for the squad,” Cowper said. “We will continue to improve as the championship season moves to the 10,000-meter distance.”

Cross country’s next challenge comes on Friday, Nov. 9 with the NCAA Southeast Regional in South Carolina. The 2018 season concludes with the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 17 in Wisconsin.

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Photo courtesy / TheACC.com