Gophers Collect First Meet Title in 15 Seasons in 2013 Opener
TOWSON, Md. – A revamped Goucher cross country squad got its season off to the best possible start at the Baltimore Metro Meet this morning, finishing in a first place tie with McDaniel among the four competing Division III schools. The first place finish was the first for the program since the 1998 York Invitational.
TOWSON, Md. – A revamped Goucher cross country squad got its season off to the best possible start at the Baltimore Metro Meet this morning, finishing in a first place tie with McDaniel among the four competing Division III schools. The first place finish was the first for the program since the 1998 York Invitational.
Freshman Anthony Lee paced the Gophers in his first collegiate race, finishing in third place after completing the 5K course in 17:46.30. Troy Browne (18:40.67), Isaac Jennings (18:43.92) and Liam Lanahan (18:49.75) placed 7th-9th, while Zachary Byrum (19:21.65) managed a 14th-place result for Goucher.
Only one minute and 35 seconds separated the Gophers' five scoring runners. Of Goucher's seven runners in the meet, four were freshmen and only two ran for the team last season.
"This is how the guys wanted to start," head coach John Caslin said. "It really was a team effort. Isaac in particular came through for us after being injured all last year. We saw some really good things on the men's side."
Goucher and McDaniel each finished with 41 points, with Chris Jones and Peter Merkel finishing first and second, respectively, at the D-III level for the Green Terror. Hood (56 points) and Stevenson (86 points) rounded out the D-III field.
Joe DiPiazza (19:27.03 – 15th) and Ned Ryan (22:38.17 – 26th) also ran this morning for the Gophers.
Morgan State and Coppin State competed at the event as well, with Morgan State taking home the Division I title. Morgan's Christian Smooth (17:27.47) edged out Jones for the top overall time among the 46 runners. Lee's time for the Gophers ranked him fifth in the overall field.
Goucher returns to action at the Catholic Invitational in Washington, D.C., next Saturday. The 6K meet will begin at 11 a.m.
"As young as this team is, they're going to get better every week," Caslin said. "As we continue to grow, our biggest challenges are ahead of us. But we certainly had some outstanding performances today."
