NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Franciscan University of
Steubenville men's and women's cross country teams started the
season out strong by capturing third and second place at
Westminster College's Fisher Invitational on Saturday. Most
notable were the performances of Bill Jones and Theresa Evans, each
earning first place in the overall individual standings.
Although Jones finished the 8-kilometer run in 25:46 minutes,
his personal best by 2 seconds, he had to overcome an unexpected
hurdle as he and two other runners were forced to run a longer
distance. The 4-wheeler leading the runners through the course took
a wrong turn during the race, costing each runner precious time and
energy. Despite that, Jones completed the race 46
seconds before second place finisher Garrett Cichowitz of Grove
City College, who in 2009 qualified second for nationals.
Bill Jones had strong support from his teammates, as Kevin LeRoy
finished sixth with a time of 26:56, followed by a tenth place
finish for Joey Schlueter. Jack Kaiser and Jason Liuzzi both scored
for the Barons with times of 28:48 and 29:09 respectively. The
Barons finished with a score of 79 points.
"This was the best finish ever for the men today," said head
coach Dan Kuebler. "Bill Jones's race was very strong, but our
depth is something that we have never had before. Freshmen Joey
Schlueter and Jason Liuzzi both had excellent races even though it
was their first time competing on the collegiate level. I think our
depth will end up playing an important role this season."
The Lady Barons also had a very strong race, placing four
runners in the top six places with a total score of 36 points.
Theresa Evans led with a strong first place finish in the
6-kilometer run with a time of 23:14, and Katherine Manion followed
in fourth place with a 23:30 minute finish. Anna Scarnecchia
ran for a fifth place finish in 23:54, followed closely by Nicole
Krajewski in 24:00 minutes. Lexie Mathis also scored for the
Lady Barons by completing the race in 25:32 minutes.
Division III school Grove City College took the team victory in
both races, scoring 50 points for the men and 32 points for the
women.
"This is the best start to any season we have had so far. It is
very encouraging," said Kuebler. "We have room to improve, but our
performance today shows how competitive we can be this season."
The Barons will compete next at the National Catholic
Championship at the University of Notre Dame on Friday, September
17.
