Tropical Storm Hanna doesn't faze runners, SU sweeps Sea Gull Opener

SALISBURY, Md. - Tropical Storm Hanna couldn't slow the cross country teams that braved the elements on Saturday morning for the annual Sea Gull Opener held at Winter Place Park. Salisbury University won both the men's and women's races against a depleted field due to the arrival of the tropical storm.

"This is not the weather we wanted but the results we wanted," said SU coach Jim Jones. "This was a good showing for our first meet with the conditions we had to run in."

Salisbury's men's team was five points off of a perfect score in their dual meet with Mansfield University. The Sea Gulls' top five runners finished second through sixth place to accumulate 20 points. Mansfield runner Joe Stanek won the 8,000 meter race with a time of 26:58 while his team posted a team score of 39 points. SU sophomore Sam Boimov tried to track down Stanek at the finish line but finished a second behind to place second (26:59). Junior transfer Travis Boccher finished third (27:18) in his SU debut. Seniors Ben Thomas and Zack Dickerson placed fourth (27:24) and fifth (27:30), respectively. Freshman Trevor Keen rounded out Salisbury's top five as the rookie finished sixth overall with a time of 27:37. Two other Sea Gull freshmen John Henderson (9th place, 28:43) and John Fitzgerald (10th, 28:48) had strong races in their debuts for Salisbury.

The conditions for the races were mixed as the rain didn't start falling until minutes before the men's race started close to 10 a.m. At times the rain poured down sideways, aided by the gusty winds, while at some points it was a slow drizzle on the warm muggy day.

The women's race featured four teams but it came down to Salisbury and Mansfield at the finish where the Sea Gulls edged the Mounties, 30 to 34. DeSales University was a distant third with 61 points followed by Cedar Crest College with 118 points. The women's field was slated to feature nine teams and six teams for the men's race. The three schools that did travel to Salisbury, Md., came from Pennsylvania.

Mansfield runner Brenae Edwards won the 5,920 meter race with a time of 23:03. Salisbury's women's team was led by sophomore Masha Berge and senior Amy DeMichele who finished second (23:46) and third (23:56), respectively. Salisbury sophomore Kristin Stromberg took fifth (24:10) after she and Berge went out hard to begin the race. DeMichele and freshman Emily Powell (8th, 24:35) helped to reel in the Sea Gull team down the stretch. Powell and fellow freshman Becca Stinner (12th, 25:00) had strong debuts for the maroon and gold as the two were the final point contributors for SU.

Coach Jones made sure to sit out any runner that was not 100 percent healthy on Saturday. Two of the marquee runners for Salisbury, sophomore Chris Barnard and senior Jenn Bulger sat out for the men's and women's race, respectively.

"We didn't want to risk injury today. If you were 100 percent you didn't run," said Jones.

Salisbury will next travel to Waynesburg, Pa., to run in the Waynesburg Invitational/Pre-NCAA Mideast Regional Meet on September 13.

Also see:

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