X-Country
Runs in All-Ohio
by Brad White
On
Friday, Oct. 5 the mens and womens teams competed in
the All-Ohio Championships at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware,
Ohio. The field included Division I, II and III teams. On the womens
side there were a total of 35 teams, 19 of which were Division III.
On the mens side there were 33 teams, 17 of which were Division
III. The weather conditions for the race were rainy and cold.
The Yeowomen ran a five-kilometer race. The team placed 17th overall
in that race which was the fourth-best finish by a Division III
team. Co-captain Laura Feeney led the team with an impressive time
of 20:03, which earned her a 56th place finish overall. Feeney,
a junior, bested many Division I runners and was among the top 10
Division III runners. Coming in behind Feeney for the Yeowomen was
fellow co-captain junior Lori Tuchfeld, who finished in 68th place
overall with a time of 20:13. This time was also among the top 20
for Division III runners. Coming in third for the team was sophomore
Julie Goeke who ran her best race of the year. She finished 81st
overall with a time of 21:21. A large pack of runners followed Goeke,
which explains why sophomore Kyle McKenzie finished in 141st place
with a time just 4 seconds behind Goekes. Rounding out the
top five for the Yeowomen was first-year Megan Radder, whose time
of 21:48 gave her a 163rd place finish. This marked the first time
that Radder had finished in the top five on the team. She took the
spot that first-year Shannon Morris usually occupies.
Times of the racers tended to be slow on both sides due to the inhospitable
weather conditions. First-year Ryan McGinnis said that the
weather definitely slowed me down. Others on both teams echoes
similar sentiments. The teams are hoping for improved conditions
at the all-important conference meet. On the mens side, Kent
State finished second behind Division I power-house Cincinnati.
The Yeomen ran an eight kilometer race. The mens time had
a slightly disappointing finish of 25th overall. This was the 14th
best finish for Division III team. One reason that the team did
not compete as well as usual was because sophomore Alex Scally and
senior Captain Jon Rogers both sat out the race due to nagging injuries.
Coach ONeal felt that it was best to let two of his star runners
rest for the conference meet. In the absence of Scally and Rogers,
first-year Ryan Mcginnis finished first for the Yeomen with a time
of 27:46, which was good enough for 78th place overall. In second
for the team was Adam Greeney, who finished 87th with a time of
27:54. Senior Hans Petersen took third for the team and 161st overall
with a time of 29:26. Junior Mike Severino placed fourth on the
team with a time of 29:43. Severino finished 172nd overall. Making
his first appearance in the top five was Ben Stanley of Brussels,
Belgium who finished with a time of 30:11, which earned the 187th
spot overall.
The mens team feels that with the return of a healthy Scally
and Rogers they will be competitive in the conference meet. The
women are looking for a top-three finish at the meet, which is being
held at Wabash (Ind.) College on Oct. 27.
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