Vikings Run To Eighth Place Finish At Horizon League Championship

Posted: Oct 28, 2006

Oct. 28, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Cleveland State women's cross country program to its first step toward becoming competitive in the Horizon League by placing eighth in the team standings at the league championship meet on Saturday (Oct. 28) in Indianapolis, Ind. It marks the first time this decade the squad has placed ahead of another team at the league meet.

"I am very proud of this team, and all of our runners are excited to climb the standings at the Horizon League Championship," head coach Joe Jaketic said. "Everyone gave their best effort and ran tough despite some very muddy conditions."

The course was very muddy after extensive rainfall in central Indiana, and Jaketic said it affected a lot of the runners' times.

"The course was very slow and people were having trouble taking their turns hard," he said. "The conditions were certainly not ideal."

Freshman Caitlan Ebner, who was named the Horizon League Athlete of the Week after her performance at the Kent State Short Course Classic last Friday, paced the Vikings with a time of 21:00, good for 36^th of 78 runners.

Freshman Colleen Conway was next for the Vikings, placing 42^nd overall with a time of 21:23. Junior Christina Swierz clocked a 21:57 (54^th place), sophomore Madeline Singer a 22:12 (61^st) and sophomore Audrey Piotrowski a 22:39 (66^th).

Seniors Sherri Douglas and Shannon Graves rounded out the Viking lineup with times of 23:02 and 23:35, respectively.

The Vikings will compete in one more meet this year, the Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 11 in Bowling Green, Ohio.

VIKING FINSIHERS

36. Caitlan Ebner 21:00

42. Colleen Conway 21:23

54. Christina Swierz 21:57

61. Madeline Singer 22:12

66. Audrey Piotrowski 22:39

71. Sherri Douglas 23:02

75. Shannon Graves 23:35

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Butler 19