Saint Francis Cross Country Teams Place First at Father Bede Hines Invite

LORETTO, Pa. (Sept. 13, 2008) – The Saint Francis men’s and women’s cross country teams both took first place at the Second Annual Father Bede Hines Invitational on Saturday in Loretto.

The teams will travel to New Jersey on for the Monmouth Cross Country Invitational on September 17 at Monmouth.

The women’s team had the top four finishers of the day, with Juniata College taking the fifth spot. Senior Shannon Kovack (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville) crossed the line first, running the 5 kilometer course in a time of 19:52.00. Junior Anna Hoffman (Enon Valley, Pa./Mohawk) finished second with a time of 20:40.00, while sophomore Sarah Grossi took third in 21:10.00. Freshman Hannah Reist (Cleona, Pa./Cedar Crest) also finished in the top five, placing fourth with a time of 21:51.00.

Megan Jones of Juniata College took fifth, finishing in 21:59.00. The Red Flash accumulated 17 points, while Juniata had 43.

Sophomore Timothy Wertner (Chambersburg, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) took first overall for the men with a time of 16:47.00, while freshman teammate Kyle Gibson (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan) finished a second later at 16:48.00.

Juniata teammates Matt Bailey, Ceth Parker and Sam Williams finished in fourth, fifth and six places respectively. Bailey finished in a time of 16:56.00, while Parker finished at 17:08.00 and Williams crossed the line in 17:12.00.

Senior John Blair (Leola, Pa./Conestoga Valley) and freshman Chris Mills (Pikesville, Md./Western Tech) finished in the top seven as well for the Flash. Blair took sixth in a time of 17:26.00, while Mills ran the course in 17:33.00, finishing seventh.

The Red Flash finished the invitational with 24 points, while Juniata College had 35.