Sept. 18, 2009
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Ohio Cross Country team ran its first meet of the season Friday, competing in the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational. Both the men's and women's team ran solid races, with each squad finishing in 4th place overall.
On the women's side, the Bobcats finished behind Florida State, Wake Forest and host Virginia Tech, while beating University of South Carolina Upstate, UNC Charlotte, the Virginia Tech Alumni and Concord University.
The `Cats best finish in the women's 4.6k race was senior Jenielle Hunt (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who ran a 17:04.6. This result was good enough for 12th place out of the 93-runner field.
"Jenielle had to be a team leader today and did a great job, finishing 12th overall," said head coach Clay Calkins. "Out of our top seven we had a couple of freshmen step up in there with Emily Skidmore (Athens, Oh.) and Angela Klimkowski (West Milton, Oh.). Those two top recruits stepped up and showed that they're going to be a great addition to the team."
Abigail Swift (Newark, De.) and Kelly O'Brien (Wexford, Pa.) also ran solid times for the Bobcats, coming in at times of 17:58.1 and 18:01.8, respectively.
On the men's side, the Bobcats finished behind host Virginia Tech, Florida State and UNC Charlotte while beating Wake Forest, University of South Carolina Upstate, Concord University and Roanoke University.
Bobcat sophomore Joey Cherico (Strongsville, Oh.) ran the best race for the men, with his 7.6k time of 25:07.0 placing him in 19th. Senior Aadam Soorma (North Canton, Oh.) was not far behind, with his 25:09.6 time placing him in 21st.
"On the men's side, Joey Cherico came back and after a great summer of training he came out and was really a team leader today," said Calkins.
Dan Quarfoot (Barrington, Ill.), Cory Irwin (Canal Winchester, Oh.) and Chris Davis (Reedsville, Oh.) finished in a good pack, with the three runners earning the 29th, 30th and 31st spots, in that order.
"It was a good opener. It was a solid performance today and as coaches we're satisfied with their performance and though they've got a lot of work ahead of them, they are doing well so far."
The next meet for the men's and women's teams will be the Ohio Invitational in Athens, Oh. on September 26.
