SU men's cross country team takes first at Towson Invitational, women take second
SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University cross country program had a strong showing at the Towson University Invitational on Saturday morning. The Sea Gulls had to overcome a minor course alteration as a fallen tree forced the race to be diverted, which lengthened the distance of both races. Despite the grueling circuit, the men's team finished first, with a total of 31 points, and the women's team (69 points) finished second overall.
"Both teams were headed in right direction coming into today's meet," said Salisbury head coach Jim Jones. "I couldn't be more proud of them. This performance will help prepare them for the rest of the season."
The Salisbury men's first place effort was followed by UMES, who took second place with 49 points. Delaware State took third (74 points), Bowie State finished fourth (99 points), while Coppin State rounded out the top five (113 points). The Sea Gull men's cross country team placed 14 runners in the top 25 finishers, while UMES's Amon Kiprotich came in first with a time of 28:14.
Sophomore Trevor Keen (Crownsville, Md.) was the fastest Sea Gull to complete the course as he finished fourth with a time of 28:57. Keen was closely followed by junior Chris Barnard (Olney, Md.), who finished fifth (29:01) with senior Carl Blickle (Woolrich Township, N.J.) coming in sixth (29:07). Junior Ryan Shifler (Boonsboro, Md.) ran 29:08 and senior Travis Boccher (Columbia, Md.) finished in 29:13 to round out the top five for Salisbury as the pair finished in eighth and ninth place, respectively.
"This was a very solid performance for the men," said Jones. "Our depth really showed today. It's difficult to beat a team who takes 1, 2, 3, but our depth was why [we won]."
The Towson women's cross country team was the overall winner with a perfect score of 15 points. Salisbury finished second (69 points), followed by Delaware State and UMES who tied for third (105). The top five was rounded out by Coppin State (154 points) taking fourth to edge out Bowie State (155 points).
The women were led in the race by junior Kristen Stromberg (Hampstead, Md.), who finished in ninth place with a time of 20:47. Stromberg was followed by sophomore Becca Stinner (Darnestown, Md.) in 13th at 21:22. The remaining top five finishers were junior Masha Berge (Potomac, Md.) in 15th place (21:27), sophomore Emily Powell (Mt. Airy, Md.) in 20th (21:51), and junior Jennifer Musemeci (Beachwood, N.J.) in 21st (21:58).
"The women's effort was much better than last week's," said Jones. "The squad ran well against scholarship schools, and grouped up much better."
The Sea Gulls will take two weeks off before hosting the Don Cathcart Invitational at Winterplace Park on Sept. 26 at 10 a.m.
