The University of Akron Athletics
Women Finish Tied For Eighth; Men 21st At Penn State Meet
October 15 | Cross Country
Oct. 15, 2005
Final Stats
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The University of Akron men's and women's cross country teams wrapped up the regular season with the women's squad tied for eighth place and the men's squad in 21st place at the Penn State National Meet Saturday at the Penn State Blue-White Golf Course in University Park, Pa.
The women finished in a tie with Cornell with 263 points as No. 1 Duke defeated the 34-team field with a score of 22 points, capturing six of the top-11 spots on the 6,000-meter course.
"As a team, we could have done better, but everyone ran good races," women's head coach Scott Jones said. "When we go to the conference meet, we need to be firing on all cylinders and have everyone run their best race. Overall, today was just very positive, plain and simple."
Beata Rudzinska (Ilawa, Poland-University of Gdansk) ended the day in fifth place, crossing the line in a time of 20:49. Brandi Schoeppner (Minerva, Ohio-Minerva) just missed a top-25 finish, breaking the tape in a time of 21:45 to finish in 26th place.
Morgan Sulzener (New Philadelphia, Ohio-New Philadelphia) finished 12 seconds behind Schoeppner, crossing the line in 31st place in a time of 21:57 while Adriana Zalucka (Zary, Poland-The University of Economics, Poznan) ended her second race of the season in 86th place with a time of 22:51. Becki Michael (Alliance, Ohio- Marlington) rounded out the scoring-five in 115th place with a time of 23:17.
"Beata had another monster day running against a great field,"
Jones said. "Brandi and Morgan also had great races today and both
are running right where they need to be going into the conference
championships. Becki also had a great day running at the number
five position."
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The men ended the day with a score of 580 points as Mid-American Conference foe Eastern Michigan toped the 37-team field with a score of 100 on the 6.2-mile course.
"We did not get out very well and that was my fault," men's head coach Rick Williamson said. "I told the team to be patient at the start and that was not the best decision. We got stuck behind the pack and was not able to pass a lot of people.
David Howard (Canal Fulton, Ohio-Northwest) was the top runner for the Zips on the day, finishing in 77th place in a time 26:39 while Scott Mate (Stow, Ohio-Stow-Munroe Falls) finished in 106th place with a time of 26:55.
Jeff Swartzel (Canal Fulton, Ohio-Northwest) posted a time of 26:58 to finish in 116th place while Jason Headman (Ashtabula, Ohio-Edgewood) crossed the line in 134th place with a time of 27:11. Craig Rupe (Cortland, Ohio-Maplewood) rounded out the scoring-five in 147th place with a time of 27:18.
"We had a tough practice on Wednesday and that hurt us in the long run," Williamson said. "The guys who ran hard on Wednesday struggled and those who had an easier practice did well. This was a rough patch in the season but we are still on the right path for the conference meet."
The Zips will take some time off before heading to DeKalb, Ill., on October 29 for the MAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships hosted by Northern Illinois.
