University of Toledo
Pre-NCAA Invitational
Rockets Compete at Pre-NCAA Invitational
10/17/2011 2:03:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
Terre Haute, IN - Toledo ran its men's cross country team and its non-varsity women's team in the Pre-NCAA Invitational on Sunday, Oct. 16, placing 27th and 34th, respectively.
The men's team ran without two of its top-five runners, junior Nick Thomas and sophomore Jacob Barnes, but were led by senior Jonathan DeWitt, who finished in 87th place with a time of 25:37. Freshman Hillary Serem was the next Rocket in, placing 129th in 26:01. Redshirt-freshman Jake Kasperski was right on his heels, finishing third for the team in 132nd place with a time of 26:02. The final two UT scoring spots were filled by freshman Daniel Thompson (169th place; 26:29) and junior Elliot Livensparger (205th place; 27:01).
The sixth and seventh runners for Toledo were sophomore Ricky Adamson (224th place; 27:35) and freshman Adam Smercina (227th place; 27:36), respectively.
"We took our lumps on the men's side," head coach Kevin Hadsell said. "We had to run without Thomas (#1 runner) and Barnes (#5 runner) at the last minute due to illness. We will finally be at full force for the MAC meet and we are excited."
The women ran its "B" team in the meet, as the varsity runners competed in the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on Friday. Junior Samantha Condron led the charge for the Rockets, placing 118th with a time of 22:56. The next finisher was freshman Jackie Koza, who came in at 179th place in 23:46. Senior Ali Fisher was the third UT runner across the line, finishing in 189th place with a time of 23:53. Rounding out the team's top-five were freshmen Megan Gaysunas (195th place; 23:58) and Megan Csehi (209th place; 24:10).
Senior Amanda Mannon (219th place; 24:21) and freshman Kelly Morgan (221st place; 24:23) filled the sixth and seventh spots for Toledo.
"The women who ran in Pre-Nat's did a nice job," Hadsell said. "They had a nice end to their season and I will be excited to see how they develop moving forward.
"The defense of the MAC title is now our only focus. We have Ari and Kristal back and doing well. They will continue to improve exponentially from day to day. It was a nice surprise to see freshman Brooke Tullis make the MAC team after running a 22:15 in the open race at Wisconsin."
The next race on the Rockets' schedule is the Michigan Open on Oct. 21.
Contact: Brad Pettiford
E-Mail: brad.pettiford@utoledo.edu
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