Cross Country Teams Run Well At Conference USA Championship

Zack Montijo Named Freshman-Of-The-Year

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Entering the 2008 Conference USA Cross Country Championship, both of East Carolina's squads wanted to improve on their finishes from last year's meet; consider it mission accomplished. Both teams jumped two spots from last year with the men finishing in fifth-place this year while the women moved up to sixth-place. For the men, it is the team's highest finish since the 2004 meet when that squad also came in fifth. The women enjoyed the program's highest place since coming in fifth in 2001.

Individually, it was the same performers at the top as Zack Montijo finished first for the men and sophomore Brittany Copeland paced the women. Montijo came in 13th overall with a time of 25:14, earning him Second-Team All-Conference USA honors, the first for a men's team runner since 2004. His honors did not stop there, as he was also named the Conference USA Freshman-of-the-Year, a first for the Pirate program. The 13th-place finish is also the highest for any Pirate at the C-USA Championship since Jessica Collins came in 12th in 2005.