October 11, 2008

Salisbury has banner day at DeSales Invitational; men win, women take second

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - The Salisbury University men's and women's cross country teams had great team performances on Saturday at the DeSales Invitational. The Sea Gull men's team ran away with first place as Salisbury had its top five runners finish in the top 20 with 46 points. SU won by 45 points over second-place Rowan University (91 points). The Sea Gull women's team had their best performance of the season as maroon and gold finished second overall with 88 points, 15 behind first-place Rowan (73 points).

Salisbury's women's squad had four runners in the top 18 spots led by senior Jenn Bulger who placed sixth overall. Bulger, who had been sidelined for the first few races of the season, bounced back with a great race for the maroon and gold. She finished the 6K race with a time of 24:12. Fellow senior Amy DeMichele was eight seconds behind in ninth place (24:20). Sophomores Masha Berge (16th place, 24:32) and Kristin Stromberg (18th, 24:39) were part of the SU pack upfront.

Salisbury's women's team with their second place trophy "I was proud how the women worked together today. The top four ran as a pack and helped push each other along," said SU coach Jim Jones after the race.

Salisbury was in great position by the time the Sea Gulls reached the three-mile mark. The Sea Gulls reached their goal, a top three finish as a team, once freshman Emily Powell crossed the finish line with a time of 25:52 (43rd place). Freshman Becca Stinner (46th, 26:00) was eight seconds behind Powell. Rowan freshman Jena Peacock won the race with a time of 22:57 to beat out 144 other runners from 18 different teams.

In the men's race, the Sea Gulls jumped out in the first mile and never looked back. Salisbury's top four runners of senior Zack Dickerson, junior Travis Boccher and sophomores Chris Barnard and Sam Boimov set the tone as the Sea Gulls reached the three-mile mark. Boccher was in third place followed by Dickerson in fifth as the runner hit the hill section of the 8K course. SU hit another gear as Dickerson finished second overall with a time of 26:58 followed by Boccher (27:06) in third. No Salisbury runner could catch University of Scranton's Chris Wasnetsky who won the race (26:37). The next Sea Gull to cross the finish line was Barnard (10th, 27:42) followed by Boimov (12th, 27:52). Freshman Trevor Keen had a top 20 finish as he was 19th overall (28:04). Senior Ben Thomas continues to improve and bounce back from an injury as he finished 22nd with a time of 28:12. Salisbury had eight runners finish in the top 35 out of 180 runners (20 teams).

Salisbury's men's team with their first place trophy Salisbury will next travel to Gettysburg, Pa., on Saturday, October 18, to run in the Gettysburg Invitational at 11 a.m.

DeSales Invitational

Men's Results (PDF)
Women's Results (PDF)