Falcons Take Aim On NCAA Regional Course; Finish 1st, 2nd
Junior Peter Shenk led a tight pack of classmates Saturday at Waynesburg.

Waynesburg, PA — Promising vibes abounded from the Messiah College cross country teams this weekend, as the Falcons’ women finished first and the men second at Saturday’s Waynesburg University Invitational.

The race provided teams with a preview of the course this year’s NCAA Regionals will be ran on, while Messiah’s collective results were an encouraging sign of things to come. The Falcons’ women’s team took home first place (with 55 team points) over Haverford College (85) and Allegheny College (100), while the men’s team settled in behind Allegheny (27 points). Thirteen teams comprised both the men’s and women’s races.

“Our team performances in this race showed that both team are among the top in our regional,” said Dale Fogelsanger, Messiah head coach. “We had a good day overall.”

As a warm, humid and rainy day set the stage, Fogelsanger’s women’s team ran away with its second straight team title of the season, competing in the 6K variety for the first time this year. Senior Jenny Kooser again led the way, finishing third overall in a time of 23:07.

Freshman Courtney Long then led a very close-knit group of six runners, as junior Jacklyn VanArsdale (10th, 23:57), freshman Mary Higgins (16th, 24:09), junior Erin Rhodes (17th, 24:13), junior Inna Potekhina (19th, 24:25) and junior Sarah Clemmer (22nd, 24:40) all finished with impressive times.

Messiah’s top five runners were separated by just 67 seconds, the second-lowest mark of any team at the meet.

“Freshman Courtney Long had a great race for us,” Fogelsanger said.

On the men’s side, it was a 49-second split between its top five finishers that paved the way for a second-straight runner-up result. Senior Frank Eanes again was the lead runner for Messiah, finishing fifth overall in a time of 26:44. Freshman Tyler Newhook finished 16th in 27:12 as the Falcons’ second to cross the finish line.

Four juniors then came across in a total of 30 seconds for Fogelsanger’s group, as Peter Shenk (18th, 27:22), Arthur Black (18th, 27:22), Jeffrey Smeiles (24th, 27:32) and Cory Kaufman (33rd, 27:57) provided depth in Messiah’s team scoring.

“It’s that top pack being fast and close together that wins races,” Fogelsanger said. “Our four junior men have really matured this year as planned. Each year they’ve improved and they’ve really stepped it up.”

Kristen Carter of Grove City College took individual medalist honors in the women’s race, finishing in a time of 22:17. Allegheny’s Tony Dipre won the men’s race in 25:57. One hundred-forty one runners crossed the finish line in the women’s event; 131 athletes competed in the men’s race.

In addition to getting a glimpse of this year’s NCAA Regional track, the Messiah teams were also treated to meals provided by the families of Kooser and Kaufman — hospitality that Fogelsanger said was much appreciated by the entire team.

Messiah will next travel to the Dickinson College Long/Short Invitational Saturday. That event will feature a pair of races for both the men and women, with 8K and 4K varieties for the men and 6K/4K races for the women. Schedule information and details of that event are available here.