Marietta cross country wraps up season with solid races at Great Lakes Regional Meet
Pioneer men take 23rd place and Pioneer women finish 12th

Nov. 15, 2008
WESTERVILLE, Ohio — The Marietta College men's and women's cross country teams ended their season with their best performances in recent history at the 2008 NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Meet, hosted by Otterbein College on Saturday (Nov. 15) morning. The Pioneer men collected 625 points to place 23rd, while Marietta's women earned 389 points to finish in 12th place among the 36-team field. Both teams had their highest finishes since the program was reinstated in 2002.

Calvin (Mich.) College swept the event, winning the men's race with 37 points and the women's competition with 42 points. Ohio Northern University's men took second with 88 points, while Case Western Reserve University's women finished second with 84 points.

Junior Cody Thomas (North Olmsted) was the first Marietta male to cover the eight kilometer course, taking 83rd in 240-person field. He finished the race in a personal record 26:34.95, which is the second fastest time on the team in 2008. Classmate Josh Mickle (Madison) crossed the line in 26:48.29 to place 98th. It was his second fastest time of the season, just his first running cross country. Junior Mike Siringer (Willowick/Willoughby South) was the third Pioneer to finish. He placed 132nd after running a personal record 27:20.62. Freshman Terrance Wallace (Columbus/Westerville Central) was not far behind in 139th place. Wallace finished in 27:25.61, which was the second fastest time for a freshman Head Coach Derek Stanley has ever coached. Senior Joseph Wynes (East Aurora, N.Y.) capped the scoring with a 176th place finish, running a personal record 28:08.90. Junior Kent Reiber (Avon Lake) and sophomore Max Kenngott (Akron/St. Vincent-St. Mary) also rounded out Marietta's runners at the event. Reiber ran a personal best 29:00.32 and placed 201st. Kenngott finished in 29:48.98 and took 219th.

"It's nice to have out best two performances at the end of the year," Stanley said. "I am proud of these guys for gutting out a great effort on a tough day. Cody Thomas had the race of his life and you could see it building up all week. Mickle hung tough despite feeling not great. Siringer stepped up for his race of the season. Wallace had a good performance, especially for a freshman. Our 1-5 was about 96 seconds, which was close to our best of the year."

Junior Randi Robertson (Avon Lake) paced Marietta's women at the six kilometer competition, which was raced by 233 runners. Robertson came in 48th place with a solid time of 23:59.16. Junior Shannon McDonald (Lorain/Amherst Steele) crossed the line in 24:31.31 to place second on the team and 74th overall. It was her top team finish of the year. Senior Jessi Larrison (Batavia) was right behind McDonald in 78th place, running 24:34.68, which was her second fastest time of the season. Freshman Reba Leonard (Brookville) also ran her second fastest time of 2008, finishing in 24:45.83, which placed her 91st. Classmate Jessica Emmert (Martinsburg W.Va.) finished in 25:07.16 to place 106th. She covered the majority of the course in one shoe after losing the other near the first mile marker. Sophomore Kaity Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.) was the sixth Marietta runner to finish. She took 115th with a time of 25:12.45. Sophomore Mehgan Cline (Dublin/Coffman) rounded out the Pioneers' finishers. She ran a 27:31.94 to place 200th.

"This is the strongest 'team' performance I have seen out of the women all year," Stanley said. "We are still a young team getting better every year. Randi ran a solid race. Shannon and Jessi really stepped up today. I'm glad to see Jessi complete her career on a good race. Reba had a great effort today. Jen Emmert gets 'Warrior of the Meet' for running over half the course shoeless."