Cross country continues strong start

Steven Grandy
Sports Editor

One week after finishing a third place in their season opener, the Wingate Men’s and Women’s cross country teams stayed at home Saturday, competing in the Wingate Invitational. The home course helped both teams, as they put together runner-up finishes.
The women took to the course first, competing in a 6-kilometer/3.73 mile race. Senior Brittany Vish, running in her first race for the Bulldogs after previously playing soccer, led the team with a time of 25:31. Vish finished in fourth place. “I felt my first race went well, but there is always room for improvement. I’m still learning how to run competitively,” said Vish. “I’ve been running on my own but it was a big adjustment going from a team sport to an individual sport”.
Sophomore Lindsay Lippencott finished tenth with a time of 26:28. Wingate would take three of the next six positions, with freshman Melanie Wollenburg finishing 13th (26:59), junior Alicia Harbold coming home 15th and freshman Rachel Winterling following in Harbold’s footsteps with a 16th place finish. Senior Jen Bossi finished 31st (29:40) and sophomore Danielle Nichols finished 38th (31:03).
Seventy-one women took part in the race, which was won by Anderson College’s Whitney Bishoff with a time of 24:07. Bishoff and her Anderson teammates won the event by 18 points over the host Bulldogs.
Harbold believes that the Bulldogs have a solid start to accomplishing their season-long goals. “Our first two meets have been great. We have been having very good meets early on in the season. Our main goals for this season are to win conference and to make nationals”.
Shortly after the women finished, the men had their turn of the scenic Wingate University Cross Country course for an 8-kilometer/4.97 mile race. Wingate used the home course to their advantage, placing four runners in the top 15. Senior David Sanctis lead the way for the Bulldogs with a time of 28:46, earning him a sixth place finish. Fellow senior Doug Coats ran a 28:52 earning him eighth place honors. Sophomore Tes Mehari finished in 10th with a time of 29:27. Finishing ten seconds behind Mehari was senior RJ Voetch in 12th. “It was great to place four in the top 12 (Saturday),” said Sanctis. “It provides a lot of optimism because we know we will have a strong pack of five or six each and every race which bodes well for our team scoring.”
Freshman Andrew Smith had a solid home debut, running a 29:57 and crossing the finish line in 17th. Wingate would complete its top seven with sophomore Ryan Burris (31:18) in 26th and senior Oliver Cross (31:52) in 32nd. Other runners for the Bulldogs were seniors Andrew Mullikin and Tim Elliott.
The Bulldogs would come very close to winning the meet, but could not top Anderson as the Trojans return home with a narrow two point victory. “It was disappointing to finish second by such a small margin, it’s always nice to go out there and get a win. At the same time, it’s early in the season and later on, our times are really going to drop” said Sanctis. Seventy-two men took part in the race which was won by Tusculum’s Simon Holzapfel, as he finished the race with a time of 26:38.
Despite losing Jayce Watson, one of the best runners in school history, Sanctis believes that the Bulldogs are capable of big things this year. “From the outside, many people see that we lost our best runner, which does hurt. However, I see a team of hardworking, passionate, experienced and talented individuals that really want to do well this year. I believe we have a very realistic chance of achieving our team goals, which are to challenge for conference and challenge for regionals. We are all a year older, wiser and stronger and know when to push and when to hold back. With all we have learned, the sky is the limit.”
Wingate travels to Guilford College next week to take part in the Guilford College Cross Country Carnival. The next home meet for the Bulldogs is on Thursday, Oct. 15.