Cross country teams win men's, women's titles
Sargent named Coach of the Year, 7 Grizzlies make HCAC teams
By Staff Report, November 7, 2008
Both the women’s and men’s Franklin College cross country teams won HCAC Championships at Manchester College on Saturday. It was the first conference championship in either team’s history.
Paul Sargent, the head coach of each team, was named the HCAC Coach of the Year in both categories.
The women competed first and finished with a 45 team score, defeating the hosts by four points. Anderson University – the last team recording a double-digit score – finished third with 77. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (115), Hanover College (126), College of Mount St. Joseph (172), Transylvania University (179), Defiance College (198) and Bluffton University (252) all trailed behind them.
Four Grizzly runners earned spots in the top 12, giving them All-HCAC status. Sophomore Heather Waterman – who finished fourth overall – was the first to cross the finish line for Franklin. She ran the 6K race in 24:01, just five seconds over her personal best. Junior Kristi Brown finished next, fifth overall, at 24:13. Senior Lauren Patterson (24:30) and sophomore Shannon Egold (24:35) finished 10th and 12th, respectively.
Rose-Hulman junior Melissa Rogers finished first with a 23:32 time. She was named HCAC Most Valuable Runner for her efforts. Manchester sophomore Jessica Bremer and Rose-Hulman senior Susan Nickol followed at 23:52 and 23:59, respectively.
Anderson’s Candace DeLong was named Freshman of the Year. She finished eighth in 24:21.6.
The men ran next and totaled 46 points in the 8K race, topping second place Rose-Hulman by two points. Manchester came in third with 63 and Anderson fourth with 78. Hanover, Defiance and Mount St. Joseph fell to triple digits with 169, 178 and 181, respectively. Bluffton and Transylvania did not record team scores.
Three Grizzly runners graced the top-12 rankings, awarding them All-HCAC status. Senior Brandon Welti finished second in a time of 25:49. Welti trailed the first place finisher, Manchester junior Andy Williams by 12 seconds.
Senior Sean Kennedy (26:30) and sophomore Jacob Hojnacki (26:43) finished fifth and seventh, respectively.
Williams ended an 11-year streak of Anderson runners finishing first and was awarded HCAC Most Valuable Runner.
Anderson’s Jake Wyatt, who finished 11th overall at 26:4 – was named HCAC Freshman of the Year.
Both the men’s and women’s teams travel to Ohio to compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional at Otterbein College. The men run first at 11 a.m. and the women follow at noon. 
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