Pioneers open 2006 cross country season at Dragon-Berg Invitational
MC women place fifth, men take seventh at meet

Sept. 2, 2006
TIFFIN, Ohio – The Marietta College cross country season got underway Saturday (Sept. 2) afternoon when the Pioneers competed at the 2006 Dragon-Berg Invitational, hosted by Tiffin and Heidelberg.

The Pioneer women totaled 152 points to finish fifth in the nine team 5k event, while the men collected 171 points and took seventh in the eight team 8k race.

Marietta's top five women all ran a solid race, crossing the line within 13 places of each other. Sophomore Jessie Larrison (Batavia) (20:09.1) led the charge with a 23rd place finish. Freshman Shannon McDonald (Lorain/Amherst Steele) (20:22.4), who placed 27th, was the second Pioneer to finish. Freshman Kaity Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.) (20:50.2) finished in 32nd place, freshman Stephanie Williams (Marietta/Warren) (20:59.4) came in 34th place and senior Brea Gardner (Somerset, Sheridan) (21:12.1) took 36th place.

The Pioneer men were more spread out as they crossed the line. Junior John Hull (Scott Depot,W.Va./Winfield) (27:10.9) was first to finish, taking 20th place. Junior Harry Potter (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) (27:44.0) came in 29th place. Freshman Corey Blattler (Barnsville) (28:15.0) finished 35th, while freshman Mike Siringer (Willowick/Willoughby South) (28:44.0) and junior Andrew Wichie (Brunswick) (28:47.0) rounded out tthe scoring for Marietta with 43rd and 44th place finishes, respectively.

The Pioneers will have a week off before returning to action Saturday (Sept. 16) when they host the Carl Broughton Invitational.