GOLDEN EAGLE CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS READY FOR PSAC’S

The Clarion University men’s and women’s cross country teams are ready for the PSAC Championships Saturday at Kutztown.

“We are excited about the PSAC’s,” Clarion head coach Pat Mooney said. “This is the time of year we train for. It should be an exciting meet.”

            The Golden Eagles women’s team will be looking to improve on last year’s sixth-place finish, while the Clarion men took 12th last season. Clarion’s women’s team was third in 2002.

TERWILLIGER PACES WOMEN’S SQUAD

            Senior Melissa Terwilliger (Blasdell, NY/Frontier) paces the women’s team.

            Terwilliger earned All-American honors last season with a 17th place finish at the NCAA Division II meet. She was also All-PSAC (3rd place) and All-Region (4th place) a year ago for the second consecutive season. She finished sixth at PSAC’s and 8th at Regionals in 2002 and was a member of the 2002 team that qualified for the NCAA national meet. This season Melissa has had a solid year and has been the Golden Eagles No. 1 runner in all six meets. She finished second at both the Slippery Rock Invitational Oct. 8 and the Elizabethtown Invitational Oct. 23.

            While Terwilliger is the front-runner, Clarion has used a “pack” mentality with its others runners trying to get them very close to each other in the standings.

            The strategy has prevailed with the No. 2-5 runners staying consistently within 10 places of each other at smaller meets and 15 places of each other at larger meets.

            Freshman Erin Richard (Erie/McDowell) has established herself as the No. 2 runner for the Golden Eagles with five second-place team finishes in six meets including a season-best time of 23:40 at the Penn State National Oct. 16.

            Runners 3-5 have fluctuated all season between seniors Sarah Rodgers (Chicora/Moniteau) and Melissa Harkins (Altoona/Altoona) and sophomore Tasha Wheatley (Saltsburg/Kiski Area).

            Rodgers, who finished 48th at PSAC’s last season and 46th at Regionals, has finished as the No. 3 runner three times, the No. 4 runner twice and the No. 5 runner once for Clarion this year. Harkins has been the No. 2 runner once, the No. 3 runner once, the No. 4 runner once and the No. 5 runner three times. Wheatley has been the No. 3 runner twice, the No. 4 runner once and the No. 5 runner once. Rodgers is the

            Right behind the top five is junior Katie Jarzab (Oil City/Oil City), who twice broke into the top five this season. Last year she was 57th at Regionals and in 2002 she finished 19th at Regionals and 25th at PSAC’s.   

DURIANCIK LEADS MEN’S SQUAD

            Senior David Duriancik (Vandergrift/Kiski Area) leads the Clarion men’s squad.

            Duriancik has been the Golden Eagles No. 1 runner in all six races this season with a fifth-place finish at Slippery Rock Oct. 8 and a 10th-place finish at Elizabethtown Oct. 26. He has a season best time of 26:52.8 on an eight kilometer course.

            Duriancik finished 46th at PSAC’s last season and 59th at Regionals.

            Freshman Chris Clark (Hadley/Commodore Perry) has established himself as Clarion’s No. 2 man having been in the No. 2 spot in each of the last three races and in four of the six this year with a 16th-place finish at Slippery Rock and a 13th-place showing at Elizabethtown.

            Junior Matt Reinhold (Pittsburgh/Chartiers Valley), sophomore Sean Williams (Austintown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch) and sophomore Dustin Mitchell (Clarion/Clarion-Limestone) round out the top five for the Golden Eagles.

            Williams, who finished 90th at PSAC’s as a freshman, finished as Clarion’s No. 2 man once, its No. 3 man twice and its No. 4 man twice this season.

            Mitchell, who didn’t run last year, has been the Eagles No. 3 man once, its No. 4 runner three times and the No. 5 man once.

            Reinhold, who battled injuries in his first two years at Clarion, finished No. 2 out of the Clarion runners once this season, No. 3 twice and No. 5 twice.

            NOTES – Both teams will be back in action next Saturday (Nov. 6) at the NCAA Regional at IUP … Clarion’s women finished sixth at Regionals last year and the men took 17th … Lock Haven is the defending PSAC men’s champion and Edinboro is the 6-time defending women’s champion.