Penguin Cross Country News
Cross Country Teams Taking on the Horizon League Championship
by YSU
Friday, Nov 1, 2013 9:32 am
UIC returns as the top team from the 2012 Horizon League Championship while the YSU women brought home a third-place finish with Brittany Stockmaster leading the way. The Guins have improved seven spots in four years. Two weeks ago, YSU was ninth at the NCAA Pre-Nationals with 364 points while UIC was 20th with 500 points.
The women's ninth-place finish at the Pre-Nationals boosted their regional ranking to 15th taking over Horizon League newcomer Oakland, who was previously ranked 15th in the region.
Leading the women in the 2013 campaign has been seniors Samantha Hamilton and Monica Ciarniello, junior Anna Pompeo and freshman McKinsie Klim. Hamilton didn't run in the first two meets of the year but returned in her first race with a first-place finish at the BGSU Mel Brodt Invitational. Hamilton then competed at the Notre Dame Invitational finishing with the best individual performance by a Penguin in school history at Notre Dame placing sixth and posting a 17:12 time in the 5k race.
After the Notre Dame Invitational she was ranked in the top 20 in the NCAA Division I in the 5K race. Hamilton also made school history at the Pre-National Invitational running the fastest time ever for YSU placing third with a time of 20:41.
With Hamilton being out in the beginning of the year, Ciarniello took advantage and led the YSU women in their first two meets with an 11th-place finish at the Duquesne Duals and a seventh-place finish at the Tommy Evans Invitational. Ciarniello's 5K times improved in each of her races starting out the year with a 19:01 time to a time of 18:23 at the Notre Dame Invitational.
Pompeo was lagged with injuries during the first two meets of the year but ended up getting a personal best in her third 5K race of the year with a time of 18:16 at the Notre Dame Invitational while beating that time at the next meet by 31 seconds and earning a sixth place finish at the Disney World Cross Country Classic. She also joined Hamilton making school history at Pre-Nationals being the second fastest runner at Pre-Nationals for YSU finishing in 10th place at 21:22.
Klim, the All-Ohio selection out of high school, has had herself an impressive freshman campaign this year being one of the top three finishers for the YSU women in each meet this year. She also has been progressing her 5K time this year with times of 19:16, 18:51, 18:33, 19:24, and 18:26. This will be Klim's first Horizon League Championship, and she intends to make an impact and be a top performer for YSU once again.
The men have finished seventh place in the Horizon League Championship in the each of the last two years and will try to better their overall performance to be in the top five this year with battling out UWM, Oakland, Wright State, and Detroit. It's looking to be a 15-20 point difference between these five teams.
"With how close it will be and it possibly coming down to two-three runners kicking for the team championship, we are hoping that the loud and proud fans and spectators will help give YSU a home field advantage the last two miles when the runners really feed off the fans coming down the homestretch." Head Coach Brian Gorby said.
Junior Eric Rupe, sophomore Austin McLean, and junior Nick Gliha have been the top performers for the YSU men this year.
Rupe has had a superb junior year with being nominated the Horizon League Cross Country male runner three times this year and having himself two first place finishes at the Tommy Evans Invitational, which was the first time for a male Penguin to win it, and at the Disney World Cross Country Classic.
Rupe also has led the men in each of the races this year besides one where Austin McLean took a sixth-place finish at the BGSU Mel Brodt Invitational. McLean has been in the top two for the men this year except at the Disney World Classic where Gliha took 13th and McLean was 14th. McLean has also been one of the top 20 runners in each race this year besides at the Notre Dame Invitational where he placed 51st.
Gliha has been a top performer for the YSU men in the Horizon League Championship in the last two years with being the top performer last year finishing 17th and being in the top three for the Guins in 2011 placing 31st. Gliha has also been one of the Penguins on the team to be surpassing his previous times. His best 8K time of the year 25:50 at the Disney World Classic came after his worst performance of the year at the Notre Dame Invitational with a time of 27:07, beating that time by 1:17.
Both YSU women and men cross country teams look to get better in this race, improve their overall performance and bring home a championship.
"Our goal is to continue to focus on ourselves, to improve fitness, health, and to run smart and strong early to give ourselves an opportunity to improve from last year's places and times, weather permitting," Gorby said.
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