2008 Woodie Awards
'Cats start season strong
McElhaney orchestrates sweep in his head coaching debut
Erik Johnson
Issue date: 9/14/07 Section: Sports
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Still, the Jennies were able to get their next three runners across the line well in front of SBU sophomore Erica Whitfield to put the final score in question.
The strong finish by UCM was not enough to overtake SBU however, as the Bearcats took the meet by seven points over their MIAA opponent.
On the men's side, the Bearcats were led by junior Michael Pierce and his second-place finish. Pierce completed the four-mile course in 20 minutes, 24.6 seconds.
Also registering a top-10 finish for the Bearcats was sophomore Shawn Etzenhouser who finished tenth in 21:18.3. Behind Etzenhouser for SBU was the sophomore trio of Jeremy Glassmaker (13th, 21:27.5), Michael McCampbell (16th, 21:36.2) and Cameron Ayers (22nd - 21:41.4).
Despite strong performances from the top five runners, the most encouraging news to come out the men's race was the apparent depth of SBU's team.
Last year, the Bearcat's season took a downward turn toward the end of the season in part due to injuries to freshmen Etzenhouser, Josh Rollins and Timmy Specht (not to mention senior T. Jay Sanderson).
Lacking in depth, the Bearcats were not able to withstand the numerous injuries and failed to qualify for nationals.
This year, SBU seems more prepared to deal with injuries or bad races from one or a couple, of their top five.
The Mule Run was a great a example of this depth with sophomore David Hackney, freshman Nathaniel Rogers and Rollins all crossing the line in the top thirty.
Overall, McElhaney seemed excited and pleased with his teams' opening performances.
"Michael and Courtney both stepped up and ran smart races, and everybody did a great job of running as a team and using teamwork to win the meet," said McElhaney.
With their strong performances, both the men's and women's teams have moved up in the regional rankings and garnered national attention by moving into the national top-25 (the men are ranked 22nd and the women 23rd).
This weekend the men's and women's teams travel to Missouri Southern to compete against stiff competition, including Missouri Southern who is ranked ahead of the men and women in the regional and national polls, in the Southern Stampede.
"I'm excited to see where we are and where we stand in our conference/region," said McElhaney. "We'll pretty much see the best teams in our conference every meet from here on out. We should know where we stand in the MIAA going into the conference meet."
The strong finish by UCM was not enough to overtake SBU however, as the Bearcats took the meet by seven points over their MIAA opponent.
On the men's side, the Bearcats were led by junior Michael Pierce and his second-place finish. Pierce completed the four-mile course in 20 minutes, 24.6 seconds.
Also registering a top-10 finish for the Bearcats was sophomore Shawn Etzenhouser who finished tenth in 21:18.3. Behind Etzenhouser for SBU was the sophomore trio of Jeremy Glassmaker (13th, 21:27.5), Michael McCampbell (16th, 21:36.2) and Cameron Ayers (22nd - 21:41.4).
Despite strong performances from the top five runners, the most encouraging news to come out the men's race was the apparent depth of SBU's team.
Last year, the Bearcat's season took a downward turn toward the end of the season in part due to injuries to freshmen Etzenhouser, Josh Rollins and Timmy Specht (not to mention senior T. Jay Sanderson).
Lacking in depth, the Bearcats were not able to withstand the numerous injuries and failed to qualify for nationals.
This year, SBU seems more prepared to deal with injuries or bad races from one or a couple, of their top five.
The Mule Run was a great a example of this depth with sophomore David Hackney, freshman Nathaniel Rogers and Rollins all crossing the line in the top thirty.
Overall, McElhaney seemed excited and pleased with his teams' opening performances.
"Michael and Courtney both stepped up and ran smart races, and everybody did a great job of running as a team and using teamwork to win the meet," said McElhaney.
With their strong performances, both the men's and women's teams have moved up in the regional rankings and garnered national attention by moving into the national top-25 (the men are ranked 22nd and the women 23rd).
This weekend the men's and women's teams travel to Missouri Southern to compete against stiff competition, including Missouri Southern who is ranked ahead of the men and women in the regional and national polls, in the Southern Stampede.
"I'm excited to see where we are and where we stand in our conference/region," said McElhaney. "We'll pretty much see the best teams in our conference every meet from here on out. We should know where we stand in the MIAA going into the conference meet."
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