Marietta's Mickle sets new standard for distance runners at Inter-Regional Rumble
Pioneer women place 15th and men finish 25th in race hosted by Oberlin College

Oct. 18, 2008
OBERLIN, Ohio — The Marietta College cross country team had its final preparation for the upcoming Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Championships when the Pioneers competed at the Inter-Regional Rumble, hosted by Oberlin College on Saturday (Oct. 18) afternoon. Both squads gave solid efforts at the meet with the women collecting 362 points to place 15th and the men totaling 755 points to place 25th. New York University won the men's competition, which featured 30 different schools, with 47 points. Case Western Reserve University collected 60 points to win the women's event, which included 27 schools.

Marietta junior Josh Mickle (Madison) set a new standard for the program's men's cross country runners in the eight-kilometer distance on Saturday. Mickle, who placed 78th, finished the course in 26:19. He broke the previous record of 26:27.4, which was set by Clark Spears at the 2004 Great Lakes Regional.

Pioneer senior Joseph Wynes (East Aurora, N.Y.) was the second runner to finish; he took 140th with a career-best time of 27:19. Freshman Terrance Wallace (Westerville) place third for Marietta and 170th overall after crossing the line in 28:11, which set a new personal record. Sophomore Max Kenngott (Akron/St. Vincent-St. Mary) was the fourth Pioneer to cross the line; he took 183rd with a time of 28:59. Junior Kent Reiber (Avon Lake) was right behind Kenngott with a 184th place finish. Reiber ran a new career best of 29:05. Junior Kevin Hazlett (Akron/St. Vincent-St. Mary) (199/30:45) and freshman Adam Null (Davisville, W.Va./Parkersburg) (204/31:20) rounded of Marietta's top seven at the event, which featured 270 total runners.

"Our men's team was not at full strength today," Head Coach Derek Stanley said. "Our team result is not indicative of how well we actually raced. I am very pleased with the effort that the men gave and look forward to seeing what they will do at the OAC Championships."

The Pioneer women were once again paced by junior Randi Robertson (Avon Lake), who finshed in 29th place after covering the six-kilometer course in 22:50. Junior Katy Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.) chased Robertson to the line and placed 31st, running a career-best time of 22:57. Senior Jessi Larrison (Batavia) also ran the fastest race of her career, finishing 85th with a time of 23:48. Junior Shannon McDonald (Lorain/Amherst Steele) was the fourth Pioneer to cross the line. She took 93rd with a time of 23:56. Freshman Reba Leonard (Brookville) capped the scoring with a 124th place finish; she covered the course in 24:31. Sophomore Mehgan Cline (Martinsburg, W.Va.) (157/26:37) and junior Brenda Puckett (160/26:49) made up Marietta's top seven in the race, which included 232 runners.

"Our women ran much closer to the other OAC teams than we did at All-Ohio and that is good heading into the OAC Championships at home," Stanley said. "Our program has never been this close to the top teams in the Conference; we are within striking distance and that is very exciting! That was not the best race we have in us."

Marietta now turns its attention to the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Championships, which will take place in Marietta, Ohio, on Nov. 1. Action begins at 11 a.m.