Women place first, men third at Battle of the Buggy Invitational

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. - Both the Salisbury University men's and women's cross country teams had a strong showing at the Battle of the Buggy Invitational on Saturday afternoon, as the women took first place out of 12 teams and the men captured third place out of 17 teams. 

The Sea Gull women were led by juniors Kristin Stromberg (Hampstead, Md.), who placed sixth overall with a time of 26:15, and Jennifer Musemeci (Beachwood, N.J.), whose 26:32 6K time was good for ninth place. Sophomores Emily Powell (Mt. Airy, Md.) and Becca Stinner (Darnestown, Md.) both cracked the top 20 for the meet, with Powell's 27:15 and Stinner's 27:26 earning them 15th and 19th place, respectively. Junior Masha Berge's (Potomac, Md.) 27:35 time was good enough for 21st place in the meet overall. 

The strong performances by the women earned them the top spot of the meet with 57 points, just ahead of Capital Athletic Conference rival Mary Washington, who ended the day with 68 points.

On the men's side, the Gulls were led by junior Chris Barnard (Olney, Md.), whose 20:48 6K time earned him 8th place overall. Freshman Stephen Berstler (Chester, N.J.) also had a solid day, nabbing 17th place with a time of 21:10. Seniors Carl Blickle (Woolrich Township, N.J.) and Travis Boccher (Columbia, Md.) finished within 10 seconds of each other, with Blickle's 21:23 giving him 23rd place and Boccher's 21:33 earning him 27th place overall. Sophomore Trevor Keen (Crownsville, Md.) rounded out the top five finishers for the Sea Gulls, as his 21:54 time gave him 38th place. 

The men's third place finish was solid, as the Sea Gulls finished with 107 points; meet winner Elizabethtown College ended the day with 49 points, and Shippensburg University took second place with 55 points. Conference foe Mary Washington finished sixth with 130 points. "It was a good day, a good tune-up before the conference championship meet," said head coach Jim Jones. 

The Sea Gulls' next meet will be the CAC Championships on Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. in Walkersville, Md. The maroon and gold will look to defend their CAC titles, as both the men and women captured first place at the championships last year.