Cross Country Suceeds at a Higer Level

By: Scott Stroup

Posted: 9/18/08

STATE COLLEGE, Penn.- This past weekend, the men's and women's cross country teams traveled to central Pennsylvania to take part in the Harry Grove Spiked Shoe Invitational at Penn State.

The Tigers were faced with tough competition from several division one schools, including Penn State, Youngstown State and Syracuse. The Tiger women finished 10th while the men took 11th in the 14 team field composed of schools from divisions one, two and three.

Top individual performances from the women's side were taken by freshman Darcy Dubuc, who placed 40th overall, completing the race in 23:36. Fellow freshman Anna Henry came in second for the Tigers with a time of 24:17, good enough for 60th overall.

The men were paced by senior Gabe Savage and sophomore Kevin Frick. who placed 63rd and 93rd respectively.

Even though the Tigers did not return as victors, they gained valuable experience facing strong competition on such a big stage, players said.

"It was phenomenal," said junior Laurn Woodard. "It was nice to compete with the division one level."

Senior Katie McIlvain was also pleased with the team's performance.

"I think the training has paid off, it's such a morale booster to beat a division one team," she said.

The women's team, although finishing 10th overall, beat out Youngstown State.

Both the men's and women's teams will be back in action this Saturday, September 20th at Cedarville.