Marietta's women place fourth and men take fifth at Carl Broughton Invitational
Robertson and Mickle pace Pioneers' performances with second and 15th place finishes

Sept. 13, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — Junior Randi Robertson (Avon Lake) finished second overall in the women’s competition and junior Josh Mickle (Madison) placed 15th overall in the men’s competition to highlight the Marietta College cross country team’s performance at the sixth annual Carl Broughton Invitational Saturday (Sept. 13) afternoon at the Broughton Nature and Wildlife Education Area. The Pioneer women collected 82 points to finish fourth as a team, while the Pioneer men totaled 131 points to place fifth as a team.

Heidelberg College won the men’s race with a combined score of 26 points. Otterbein College (46 points) and Notre Dame College (94 points) finished second and third, respectively. Otterbein captured the women’s title with 33 points, while Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.) College (78 points) edged out Saint Vincent (Pa.) College (79 points) to place second. Heavy rains from Friday night made the traditionally challenging course even more difficult on Saturday. In addition, the heat and humidity produced tough conditions to run, resulting in slower times overall.

Otterbein’s Nikki Resse out-kicked Marietta’s Robertson down the stretch to win the women’s 5K race in 20:20.00. Robertson crossed the line right behind her in 20:21.00. Freshman Jen Emmert (Martinsburg, W.Va.) was the second Pioneer woman to finish. She took 13th with a time of 21:19.65. Freshman Reba Leonard (Brookville) took 20th overall, finishing in 21:44.67. Sophomore Kaity Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.) was the fourth Marietta runner to finish; she took 23rd after crossing the line in 21:50.80. Junior Shannon McDonald (Lorain/Amherst Steele) rounded out the scoring by finishing in 22:17.02 and taking 30th place. Sophomore Chelsea Kamody (Amherst/Amherst Steele) bounced back from an early fall and placed 37th, finishing in 22:53.31.

Heidelberg’s David Butcher won the men’s 8K race with a time of 27:45.84. Mickle was the first Marietta man across the line, taking 15th place with a time of 29:20.39. Senior Joseph Wynes (East Aurora, N.Y.) ran well and took 29th place after covering the course in 30:38.37. Freshman Terrance Wallace (Westerville) was right behind Wynes. He took 33rd place with a time of 31:05.13. Sophomore Max Kenngott (Akron/St. Vincent-St. Mary) placed 41st, running a time of 31:59.13. Junior Louie D'Amico (Shadyside) made his way into the team’s top five for the first time in his career, finishing in 47th place with a time of 32:31.42.

“We battled some difficult conditions today,” said Head Coach Derek Stanley. “This was our first true race of the season, and I am confident that we can use this experience to make us a better team as we progress through the season.”

Marietta cross country will be back in action on Sept. 27 when the Pioneers make the trek to Salisbury, Md., for the Don Carthcart Invitational. Action is set to begin at 10 a.m.