1996 Season Recap

1996 Season Recap

The 1996 Salisbury University men's and women's cross country teams combined to take home six top-3 performances on the season as the pair each qualified for yet another regional meet. The teams combined to place eight harriers on the All-Capital Athletic Conference team and six on the All-Mason-Dixon Conference team. The squad was once again led by Cliff Latham, who was honored as CAC Women's Coach of the Year.

The Salisbury men began the year with a tough challenge as the squad ran at the highly contested Lebanon Valley Invitational and place 16th among 35 teams. After placing seventh in the George Mason Invitational, the Sea Gull men regrouped with an outstanding second place showing at the York Invitational. The good finishes did not stop there as SU placed fourth in the Salisbury Invitational and sixth at the Maryland State Championships. At the conference championships, the maroon and gold placed fourth among seven teams at the Mason-Dixon Conference Championships before picking up a huge second place finish at the CAC Championships. The men ended their season at the NCAA South/Southeast Regional.

The Sea Gull men were led by freshman Max Snavlin, who was the only SU male to be named to the All-CAC team first team. His sixth place finish (27:56) at the CAC Championships proved to be Salisbury's highest finish. Snavlin also ran well at the York Invitational (11th, 29:53) and the Mason-Dixon Championships (21st, 29:00). His race at the Mason-Dixon Championships was first among all SU men. Sophomore Bob Hendricks and Ben Vickers also put together solid seasons to pace the Sea Gulls. Hendricks was an All-CAC second team performer courtesy of a ninth place finish (28:17). Hendricks finished in 26th (29:22) at the Mason-Dixon Championships and 12th (29:57) at the York Invitational.

The Salisbury women began the year with a strong fifth place finish at the 36 team Lebanon Valley Invitational. After placing eighth at the George Mason Inviational, the women would place first at both the York Invitational and the Salisbury Invitational. SU did not stop there as it placed third at the Maryland State Championships and then won the Mason-Dixon Conference behind a 38 point effort at the championship meet. The women continued to impress with another conference crown in the CAC as the Sea Gulls boasted a 30 point effort. The women would then end their season with a second place finish at the regional meet.

Freshman Kerri Bowers stole the show on the women's side as the Salisbury, Md., native was named CAC Women's Rookie of the Year and to both the first team of the CAC and Mason-Dixon conferences. Bowers placed second (19:42) at the CAC's and third (19:31) at the Mason Dixon Championships. She led the team in each of it's last four meets. SU had five women collect spots on the All-CAC second team in senior Rebecca Bell (fourth, 19:57), senior Kelly Delp (sixth, 20:07), junior Lori Frei (eighth, 20:15), senior Vicki Huchko (11th, 20:43), and freshman Stef Petr (13th, 20:47. The same five were also named to the All-Mason-Dixon Conference second team in Bell (eighth, 19:59), Delp (ninth, 20:04), Frei (12th, 20:36), Petr (14th, 20:55), and Hucko (15th, 21:09).

Most Valuable Runner Men's Runner - Max Snavlin

Most Valuable Runner Women's Runner - Kerri Bowers