Salisbury men place seventh, women 13th on wet day at Gettysburg
GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The Salisbury University cross country teams traveled to Gettysburg College Saturday for the Gettysburg Invitational on a sloppy course. The men's team took home a seventh-place finish in a 25-team field, while the women finished in 13th of 28 teams.
Salisbury junior Chris Barnard (Olney, Md.) was the top individual finisher for Salisbury on the day, placing 11th in the men's race, with a time of 26:58. Barnard helped the Gulls to 189 points. Salisbury narrowly missed out on a sixth-place finish, placing two points behind the Coast Guard Academy's 187 points. The Shippensburg University men's team won the meet, with 26 points, placing all five of its runners in the top eight positions.
Salisbury's next four runners finished within 13 seconds of each other. Senior Travis Boccher (Columbia, Md.) finished 48th with a time of 27:54 to lead the Salisbury pack, following by sophomore John Fitzgerald (Baltimore, Md.), who finished 50th with a time of 27:57, senior Carl Blickle (Woolrich Township, N.J.), who came home 52nd with a time of 28:01, and sophomore Trevor Keen (Crownsville, Md.), who finished 57th with a time of 28:07.
The top male finisher in the race was Denison University's Makorobondo Salukombo, who finished with a time of 26:19.
Junior Kristin Stromberg (Hampstead, Md.) was the top finisher for the Salisbury women, placing 27th in her race with a time of 25:17, helping the Sea Gulls to 335 points. Shippensburg University also claimed the women's meet, finishing with 72 points.
Junior Jennifer Musemeci (Beachwood, N.J.) was Salisbury's second runner across the line, finishing 58th with a time of 26:03. She was followed by sophomore Becca Stinner (Darnestown, Md.), who finished 79th with a time of 26:28, sophomore Emily Powell (Mt. Airy, Md.), who finished 82nd with a time of 26:31 and junior Masha Berge (Potomac, Md.), who rounded out the Salisbury top five with a 122nd-place finish in 27:21.
The top individual female was Messiah College's Erin Rhodes, who finished with a time of 23:43.
Salisbury coach Jim Jones commented that on a wet day like Saturday, it's not about the time a runner posts, it's about competing and working hard all day. He was happy with the way his team competed in the race.
The Sea Gulls will head back to Pennsylvania next Saturday to compete in the Battle for the Buggy Invitational in Lancaster, Pa.
