Cross Country teams place fourth at CAC Championship meet

By MIKEY BARNES 

It was Halloween weekend and while most people were out in their costumes, or setting up their yards for the holiday, the University of Mary Washington men and women cross country teams along with the remaining Capital Athletic Conference teams met in Hershey, Pennsylvania for the 2016 Capital Athletic Conference Championships.

The men and women teams have built up to the conference championship with a number of top three performances in various meets prior, coming into the conference meet ready to prove themselves.

On the women’s side of the meet, York finished in first place with a total of 31 team points. Christopher Newport University got second place, with just two more points for a total of 33 and was followed by Salisbury with 67 total points. Mary Washington found themselves in fourth place at the end of the day, with a team score of 130. Marymount, Wesley, St. Mary’s and Frostburg St. rounded out the top eight for the women.

UMW was led on the women side by sophomore Jillian Weisbeck, who finished in 18th place at a time of 25:14, she was followed by freshman Rosie Kostka who finished in 24nd, just 13 seconds behind Weisbeck with a team of 25:27. Junior Marin Bader finished in 31st with a time of 25:45, sophomore Emily Knerr and senior Molly Garthwaite rounded out the top five for Mary Washington with respectable finishes of 39th and 49th.

On the men’s side of the championship meet, CNU took first place with a near-perfect score of 16 points, followed by York with 53, Salisbury 86 and UMW with a total of 102 points and the fourth place finish. Frostburg, Southern Virginia, St. Mary’s and Wesley helped round out the top eight teams.

The Eagles were led sophomore Kyle Pfohl, who finished in 15th place with a time of 27:05. Sophomore J.P. Burklow was behind Pfohl with a 27:09 and a 17th place finish. Senior Kevin McCarty had the third finish for Mary Washington and finished with a time of 27:50 and a 31st overall finish. Sophomore Calhoun Stirling and senior Chris Markham rounded out the top five for the Eagles with times of 28:23 and 28:30 respectively.

When asked about the performance of the team, senior Chris Sandoval said, “We all had talked about what we wanted to accomplish individually and as a team. We definitely came out and worked amazingly well together and even though we got fourth, we raced really well for such a hilly and punishing course and I couldn’t be more proud of us, especially the freshmen.”

On Nov. 12, the men’s team, along with Weisbeck and Kostka, will travel to Berry College in Georgia to compete in the Regional Championship in what will be the runners’ last race of the year, baring a berth to the national meet.