MARIETTA, Ohio – The Crusader cross country teams battled strong competition at the 2008 Ohio Athletic Conference Championship Meet on Saturday at the Carl Broughton Nature Preserve. Capital’s women placed eighth out of 10 teams while the men were ninth out of 10 squads.
Senior Shelly Gaines (Grove City, Ohio/Central Crossing HS) placed 21st in a field of 117 runners with a time of 24:26.75 on the 6,000-meter course. She was followed by freshman Sarah Trick (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe HS) who ran a 25:47.76 to place 56ht individually.
Another senior Kara Baker (Bellevue, Ohio/Sandusky Perkins HS) was 63rd after crossing the line at 26:05.75 while classmate Lindsay Dearth placed 69th in a time of 26:29.88.
The trio of senior Amy Shaw (Ashland, Ohio/Ashland HS), sophomore Corinne Salva (Mt. Vernon, Ohio/Fredericktown HS) and freshman Jacqueline Swietochowski (Des Plaines, Ohio/Maine West HS) closed out the scoring runners for Capital. Shaw placed 100th overall with a time of 30:01.91 while Salva was just behind with a time of 30:38.73 to finish in 103rd position. Swietochowski placed 108th with a time of 31:34.66.
The Capital men were led by senior Bryan DeArdo (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central HS) who finished 28th out of 141 competitors with a time of 27:39.42 on the 8,000-meter course. The effort was his third fastest time of the season.
Sophomore Nate Wirrig (North Lewisburg, Ohio/Tri-County HS) followed with a time of 28:36.50 to place 60th while freshman Alex Moore (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson HS) finished with a 29:19.46 to place 82nd.
The trio of junior Joel Eversole (Waverly, Ohio/Waverly HS), sophomore Emerson Rhoad (Zanesville, Ohio/Zanesville HS) and senior Joseph Miceli (Newark, Ohio/Newark Catholic HS) ran in a pack that finished 100th, 101st and 102nd. Eversole led the way with a time of 30:03.87 while Rhoad had a 30.05.74 and Miceli finished at 30:06.68.
Sophomore Zachary Link (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville HS) was the final scoring runner for the Crusaders with a time of 32:58.01 to finish in 130th position.