Men's Cross Country Finishes 2nd At SCAC Championships
The men finished 2nd in the 2001 SCAC Championship meet, behind DePauw University, on Saturday 10/27 at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. Junior Brian McCarthy was the top finisher for the Lynx, finishing in 5th place with a time of 26:53.
The overall team finish marks only the second time in the last twelve years that the Lynx have not captured the SCAC title. The Lynx won titles consecutively from 1990 - 1999.
"Given the injuries we've had this year, the guys ran well," said head coach Robert Shankman. "We knew coming in that it would be tough, because DePauw is a very solid team."
Coming into the meet, Rhodes' top runner was senior John Knight, who had only lost to one Division III runner all year long. Knight struggled, however, and finished in 9th place overall with a time of 27:18. McCarthy had been battling through an injured quad strain all fall, as well, but was able to run his best race of the year nonetheless. The result should give McCarthy--a Division III national qualifier a year ago--confidence as he prepares for the regional meet in two weeks.
Freshmen Matt Wood, Matt Sauter, and Todd Ridley all turned in strong performances in the meet. Wood was the 3rd place finisher for the Lynx and finished in 14th place overall with a time of 27:35. Sauter finished in 20th place overall with a time of 27:55. Rounding out the top five for Rhodes was Ridley, who ran the race in 28:41. For their performances in the meet, McCarthy, Knight, and Wood were all named to the All-SCAC team.
"The three freshmen have really stepped it up for us when we needed it most," said Shankman. "They're only going to get better each year."
Depth has been the missing piece for the men all year. Early on, Coach Shankman felt that this year's squad had the potential to be the strongest Lynx team ever. Unfortunately, nagging injuries to McCarthy and senior captain Mark Loeffler slowed the team. The team now hopes to remain healthy for the remainder of the season and finish strongly at the regional meet at Mississippi College (Clinton, MS). In order for this to happen, Knight must bounce back and run a great race, and McCarthy must continue to improve upon his time and get back near the shape he was in last year. The freshmen have been breaking their own personal records with each new race, and must continue to improve as well.
"It has been a tough year with all of these nagging injuries…..but despite this, these guys will be very competitive at the region meet," said coach Shankman. "We have a legitimate shot at finishing in the top 2 or 3 spots."
