2007 Marietta College cross country preview
Marietta looking to move up OAC standings this fall

Aug. 23, 2007
MARIETTA, Ohio — With the expected return of nine lettermen on the men's team and five on the women's squad, Head Coach Derek Stanley's Marietta College cross country team is primed to make another move up the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) standings in 2007.

The Pioneer women, who placed sixth at the OAC Championships in 2006, return their top three runners—junior Jessi Larrison and sophomores Shannon McDonald and Kaity Smith. All placed in the top 25 at the Championships; McDonald (24:55.7) was 19th, Larrison (25:07.7) took 21st and Smith (25:16.3) finished 24th.

Sophomore Randi Robertson, who transferred in before the spring semester, joins the trip to give Marietta a strong nucleus. Robertson proved to be the team's top distance runner during the 2007 track & field season. Sophomore Logan Wern, who showed tremendous improvement during the track & field campaign, is also primed for a breakout season.

Sophomore Brenda Puckett and freshmen Mehgan Cline, Chelsea Kamody and Yolien Peeters will compete for with Wern for the fifth, sixth and seventh spots this fall.

"Our women moved from ninth to sixth last year, and with the graduation of some of the top runners in the Conference, I feel we should move into the top half," Stanley said. "We were pretty close to Otterbein and John Carroll last year so we'll be fixed on them as well as Ohio Northern and Mt. Union." 

Marietta's men also return their top three finishers from last year's OAC Championships. Seniors Harry Potter (27:41.4) and John Hull (28:05.4), who placed 33rd and 34th, respectively, will anchor a team looking to improve upon its eighth-place finish in 2006.

Mike Siringer, who consistently placed third or fourth as a freshman, will be expected to make a bigger impact during his sophomore season.   

Junior Joseph Wynes and sophomores Corey Blattler, Louie D'Amico, Kevin Hazlett, Kent Reiber, Michael Siringer and Cody Thomas, as well as freshman Max Kenngott, to round out the rest of the roster. 

"We are definitely looking for improvement from last year," Stanley said. "With three of the 10 men's teams qualifying for the NCAA Championships in 2006, it is tough to move up the OAC standings. It would be nice to finish in the middle of the Conference and improve upon our 25th place finish at the Great Lakes Regional in 2007."

Marietta will open the season Sept. 1 when it travels to Huntington Valley, Ohio, for the Bill Sudeck Invitational. The Pioneers' lone home meet, the Carl Broughton Invitational, will take place Sept. 15. On Sept. 22, the squad will return to London, Ontario, Canada, for the Western Invitational. Ohio Wesleyan will once again host the All-Ohio Championships on Oct. 5. Marietta's final tune-up for the OAC Championships, which are being hosted by John Carroll on Oct. 27, will be the Carnegie Mellon Invitational on Oct. 13. The 2007 regional meet will be held in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Nov. 11.