GREENSBORO, N.C. – On a cold, wet morning on the campus of Guilford College, the Emory & Henry College Men's Cross Country Team made history with a fifth-place finish at the 2014 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships. Prior to Saturday, the Wasps have never finished above sixth in the history of the program.
Picked to finish eighth by the league's 11 head coaches, Emory & Henry placed higher than six other schools, topping the previous best mark of three set at the 2013 ODAC meet.
"We got an incredible team performance from our men's team today – their pack running was fantastic from start to finish," said Head Coach Tom Antenucci. "Each of our top seven runners moved up between five and 10 places over the course of the race."
E&H was led by freshman Michael Cawood's (Louisville, Ky.) time of 28:25 over the 8K course to finish 21st. Second for the Wasps was sophomore Alex Cooper (Christiansburg, Va.), who as 23rd in 28:29.
"Michael (Cawood) and Alex (Cooper) did a fantastic job, placing among the top 25 in the toughest conference in the Southeast Region," Antenucci added.
Sophomore Kevin Watts (Stafford, Va.) clocked a time of 28:59 to come in 32nd while junior Nathan Fishell (Richmond, Va.) and freshman Michael LoGrande (Alexandria, Va.) were fourth and fifth on the team with times of 29:34 (45th) and 29:51 (51st), respectively.
Also in the field for Emory & Henry was sophomore Jackson Feezell (Gastonia, N.C.) (30:33 – 60th), freshman Seth Hein (Fairfax, Va.) (30:47 – 64th), freshman Buck Kirtland (Richmond, Va.) (31:31 – 73rd), freshman Caleb Simpson (Midlothian, Va.) (33:12 – 82nd), freshman Brian Crockett (Rural Retreat, Va.) (33:44 – 89th), freshman Eric Murphy (Fairfax, Va.) (33:58 – 90th) and junior Justin Smith (36:49 – 101st).
Ian McDonald of Washington and Lee University won the race, running a 26:20 to earn ODAC Runner of the Year honors. Bridgewater College was crowned ODAC Champion, placing seven runners in the top 13 including four in the top eight.
Emory & Henry will next compete at the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Regional Championship on the campus of Berry College in Mount Berry, Georgia, on Saturday, November 15.
---E&H---
-photo courtesy of Keith Lucas and Sideline Media