Salisbury men place third, women fourth in Cathcart Invitational
SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University cross country team hosted the third annual Don Cathcart Invitational at Winterplace Park on Saturday under sunny skies. The men's team finished third with 69 points, and the women's cross country team followed with a fourth-place finish, and a total of 113 points.
"Today we faced tough competition, and ran the best we could. Everybody ran one of their best times today, and the hard work is beginning to pay off," said Salisbury head coach Jim Jones. "We couldn't have asked for better weather, and we ran well."
The Division II men's cross country team from East Stroudsburg University finished first with 21 points. They were followed by Wilmington University (66 points); the Salisbury men's team missed placing second by a mere three points. The remaining top five was rounded out by Virginia Wesleyan University (98 points), and John Carroll University (170 points).
The SU men's team had seven runners finish in the top 25. Leading the way for the Sea Gulls was junior Chris Barnard (Olney, Md.) who finished seventh with a time of 26:02. Senior Carl Blickle (Woolrich Township, N.J.) followed in 12th place (26:21), while senior Travis Boccher (Columbia, Md.) finished a few seconds behind him, placing 15th (26:30). The overall winner of the meet was East Stroudsburg's Frank Fezza, who finished with a time of 25:34.
The John Carroll University women's cross country team took home the victory, finishing with 51 points, while East Stroudsburg turned in a close second-place finish (59 points). Shenandoah University placed ahead of Salisbury with 85 points, and Frostburg State University came in fifth (122 points).
The Sea Gull women's team was led by junior Kristen Stromberg (Hampstead, Md.) who placed 12th in a time of 23:21. Salisbury junior Masha Berge (Potomac, Md.) finished 23rd (24:11), and was then followed in quick succession by sophomore Becca Stinner (Darnestown, Md.) in 24th place (24:15) and junior Jennifer Musemeci (Beachwood N.J.) in 25th (24:19). The fastest women's time was recorded by John Carroll's Ashley Aberl, who finished the course in 22:14.
"We still have some work to do, but overall it was a nice step towards our goals in November," said Jones.
The Sea Gulls will travel next to Bethlehem, Pa., to compete in the Paul Short Invitational on Oct. 2 at 4 p.m.
