Three top 25 finishes propel Marietta women to sixth place at OAC Championships
Pioneer men take eighth at event

Oct. 28, 2006
TIFFIN, Ohio — The Marietta College women's cross country team knew that it was primed to make a statement at the 2006 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Championships. The Lady Pioneers, behind the strong performance from its top three runners who all finished in the top 25, did just that in wet and rainy conditions on the Heidelberg College course.

The Pioneer women, who had not finished higher than ninth since the program's reinstatement in 2002, ran to a sixth place finish. Ohio Northern captured the team title for the second straight year, while Baldwin-Wallace jumped from fifth to second and Mount Union remained third.

Marietta Head Coach Derek Stanley said before the race that the women's goal was to have as many as three runners surpass 35th place, the previous best finish for a Lady Pioneer at the Championships. Stanley's prediction proved true.

Freshman Shannon McDonald (Lorain/Amherst Steele) was the first Pioneer to cross the line, taking 19th place with a time of 24:55.7. Sophomore Jessi Larrison (Batavia) was right behind her in 21st place, finishing in 25:07.7 and freshman Kaity Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.) wasn't far behind, taking 24th place with a time of 25:16.3.

Rounding out the scoring for the women was senior Brea Gardner (Somerset/Sheridan) in 46th place (26:45.7) and freshman Stephanie Williams (Marietta/Warren Local) in 50th place (27:23.4).

"This was exactly the performance that we were hoping for out of the women's team," said Stanley. "It is a great day for our program and something that will help us continue to build."

Marietta's men ran just as hard, but had to settle for eighth place again in 2006. Mount Union repeated as champions, while Ohio Northern took second and Heidelberg third.

Junior Harrison Potter (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) led the way with a 33rd place finish (27:41.4). Junior John Hull (Scot Depot, W.Va./Winfield) placed 39th (28:05.4), freshman Mike Siringer (Willowick/Willoughby South) took 51st (29:05.2), senior Andrew Wichie (Brunswick) was 54th (29:21.3) and Cody Thomas (North Olmstead) rounded out the scoring in 56th (29:58.8).

The Pioneers will return to action Saturday (Nov. 11) when they compete at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, which is hosted by Hanover (Ind.).