The University of Akron Athletics
UA Women Win; Men 2nd at Tommy Evans
September 06 | Cross Country
AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron cross country teams opened
its 2008 campaign Saturday afternoon with its annual Tommy Evans
Invitational. The women's squad dominated the field placing five
different runners in the top ten while the men also boasted an
impressive performance placing second overall. Leading the way for
the women was sophomore Kim Lorentz who won the race in a
course-record time 18:04.
In winning the event, the Zips women, who dominated with a score of
17, swept the top four spots and had five in the first seven
runners. Following Lorentz was Larisa
Arcip, Cassie Schenck and Colleen
Moran. Olivia Jawaorek placed seventh. Three additional Zips
helped the squad to victory placing in the top 25. Junior Danielle
Sidell and Sophomore Ro Rupe both placed 12th and 13th
respectively while Freshman Ashley
Rockwood finished 20th out of the 58 runners competing.
Coach Jones was pleased with the team's results and the emphasis
their performance had on the upcoming season.
"We're excited to get started. Today was a great way to kick off a
season that holds a lot of promise for us. Our whole group ran well
today and I'm really proud of their effort."
On the men's side, Akron placed second overall and trailed
winner Buffalo by only seven points, 40-33. Three different Zips
placed in the top ten runners with Andy
Knapp leading the way in second place. Knapp, a freshman for
the Akron squad was the top Division I runner crossing the tape
with a time of 21:04. (He was bested by Mount Union's Dan Whisler
who was the overall winner with a time of 21:00.) Fellow UA
freshman Gus Dudek trailed Knapp by five seconds,
finishing at the 21:09 mark placing fifth overall. Junior Mark
Bogard rounded out the top ten performers for the Zips placing
ninth with a 21:21 time mark.
Analyzing the men's performance, Jones again noted the influence
of his new runners while acknowledging room for growth and
improvement in their upcoming races.
"I was excited to watch our group of young guys compete. We
still have a lot growth ahead of us, but the freshmen ran
fearlessly in their first collegiate race. Some of the other guys
were a little bit overzealous and that hurt their final placing,
but Coach LaBadie will get that straightened out. They're going to
be a tough group!"
Both teams sprint back into action on Saturday, September 20th
when they head to Buffalo, N.Y. where they will compete in the
Buffalo Stampede. Scheduled start times are 11:30am and 12:15pm for
the men and women respectively.
