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Sept. 23, 2005
Experienced Men's Squad Hopeful to
Remain Atop Horizon League
This year’s men’s cross country squad will be without three
of its top four finishers from a
year ago, but two runners coming
back from redshirt seasons and a
local accomplished recruit should
help the Penguins return to the top
three in the conference – a spot
they’ve held 11 of the past 12
years.
Senior Dave Mealy will be the top returnee from a year ago
while the trio of Nick Buzek, Nick
Kruse and Nick Smith will headline
the team with a strong core of
experience.
Mealy scored in every meet last season, placing third on the
team in six meets and leading the
team in one. He was the team’s top
finisher at the NCAA Great Lakes
Regional in November by running the
second-fastest 10K time in school
history. His 21st-place finish at
the Horizon League Championship was
also a nine-place improvement from
his sophomore year.
Buzek redshirted last season after scoring in every meet and
placing 22nd in the conference as a
junior in 2003. He got off to a
solid start this season, leading the
men to the team title at the Mel
Brodt Invitational with a
third-place finish. Smith battled
back from a year-long ankle injury
that kept him out the entire 2003-04
academic year to score in the final
five meets as a junior. He is the
school-record holder in the
3,000-meters and has placed as high
as 26th in the conference.
Kruse is also coming off a redshirt year with injuries. Like
Buzek, he jumped out to a good start
in his first race in almost two
years as he finished fourth overall
at the opening meet.
Sophomore R.D. Goodright scored in one meet last season
before evolving into one of the
track squad's top middle distance
runners. Fellow sophomore John
Sheppard scored in four cross
country meets before redshirting the
indoor and outdoor track seasons due
to injury.
South Range High graduate and state champion Dan Nemergut and
Harold Jones willl headline the
recruiting class. Nemergut capped
off his career by winning the
Division III state crown after
placing second at state as a junior
and 32nd as a sophomore. Jones is a
middle distance runner and former
state champion in the 800m.
The Penguins will have four more meets before competing in
the Horizon League Championship on
Oct. 29 in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
They will compete in their second
meet of the season tomorrow at the
Spiked Shoe Invitational before
traveling to the Notre Dame
Invitational on Sept. 30. The
All-Ohio Invitational will be held
on Oct. 7 in Delaware, Ohio, and the
Penn State National Invitational
will be Oct. 15. The NCAA Great
Lakes Regional will be Nov. 12 in
Bloomington, Ind. |
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