Published: Friday, Oct. 02, 2009 / Updated: Saturday, Oct. 03, 2009 04:56 PM

Winthrop suspends 5 cross country runners

Five Winthrop cross country runners who were cited over the weekend for underage drinking have been suspended from the team, school officials announced Wednesday.

Sophomores Jonathon Fazzary and Dustin Ubbing and freshmen Alex Cole and Dane Flinchum have been suspended from running in Friday's cross country meet at the Charlotte Invitational. They also are suspended from the indoor track meet on Jan. 16.

Sophomore Adam Leroux, who is not competing in cross country this fall due to an injury, has been suspended from competition for two indoor track meets on Dec. 5 and Jan. 16.

Athletics director Tom Hickman suspended the students for their “violation of athletic department and team rules,” according to the announcement, released by Jack Frost, assistant athletics director for media relations.

Rock Hill Police cited each of the students for underage drinking on Constitution Park Boulevard late Saturday night, according to municipal court documents.

Fazzary is 20; Ubbing, Cole and Leroux are 19 and Flinchum is 18, according to the students' birth dates on their citations.

Fazzary is a sport management major from Montour Falls, N.Y.; Ubbing is a pre-major from Rock Hill; Cole is an exercise science major from Ravenswood, W. Va.; Leroux is a biology major from Canada; and Flinchum is a biology major from Louisville, Ky., according to the Winthrop student directory.

Cross country coach Ben Paxton said the men are among the team's top runners this season. Fazzary ranked 25th out of 103 runners in last month's Asics Fall Classic at Winthrop Lake, an 8k run that he finished in just over 27 minutes. Ubbing finished 41st in the same race at 27:58 minutes; Flinchum finished 55th at 28:43 minutes and Cole finished 72nd at 31:12 minutes.

Paxton said school officials “acted swiftly” in disciplining the students. By 9 a.m. Monday, all the parents had been contacted and the disciplinary action had been decided, he said.

The students also face community service hours, Paxton said Wednesday, and they face fines up to $470 from the city.