Teams / St. Vincent College

The Bearcats opened the spring season with a strong showing, taking fourth place in the small college division at the Western Pennsylvania Championships, hosted by California University (PA). SVC was particularly strong in the distance events. In the 5000 meter run, senior Adam Smith took first in a field of 19 runners from all three NCAA classifications, finishing with a time of 15:08. Teammate Ryan Barlow finished closely behind Smith, with a second-place time of 15:57, while Matt Hagg took seventh (16:46) and Mike Hannon 11th (16:50). In the 800 meter run, the brother tandem of Craig and Shane Anderton took third and fourth place, respectively, with times of 1:58.00 and 1:58.32. Tommy McLaughlin finished 17th, with a time of 2:05.59, and Mike Stevens 18th (2:05.90). Kevin Wanichko posted a team-best time of 4:08.57 in the 1,500 meter, good for fifth place, while teammate Jim Vargo finished in 13th in the event with a time of 4:16.68. Nick Higgins' time of 35:09 was good for ninth place in the 10K run, while the team of Craig and Shane Anderton, McLaughlin, and Wanichko finished fifth in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:29.94. Shane Sweeney led the Bearcats in sprint events, finishing 16th in the 400 meter (54.20 seconds) and 19th in the 200 meter (24.97), while Corey McGuire turned in a team-best 32nd place time of 12.33 seconds in the 100 meter dash. The Bearcats finished with a team score of 78 in the small-college division, which was won by Grove City College and its score of 189. SVC will now return to action on Saturday, when the Bearcats will take part in the Washington & Jefferson Invitational.

Saint Vincent's Adam Smith and Kevin Wanichko entered the record books, as the Bearcats finished in 18th place at the NCAA Inter-regional Rumble hosted by Oberlin College. Smith led the Bearcats with a 19th-place finish, covering the 5-mile course in a school-record 25:20, while Wanichko's time of 26:06 (64th place) is the fastest time ever recorded by an SVC freshman. Other top finishers for the Bearcats in the day's varsity race, in which 271 runners competed, included Ryan Barlow (114th), Matt Hagg (127th), Josh Hooke (143rd), Tommy McLaughlin (161st), and Nick Higgins (163rd). In the day's junior varsity race, the Bearcats were led by Shane Anderton, who took 40th place with a time of 27:26. All 16 SVC runners turned in their top times of the season, while 13 of the 16 recorded personal records. It was the strongest field of competitors of the season for the Bearcats, as eight of the 30 teams entered the week ranked in the top 30 in the country. New York University took the overall team title, with a score of 47, and was led by Jesse Schneider, who finished first individually with a time of 24:43. Complete results from the event can be found here: http://www.goyeo.com/documents/2008/10/18/OBERB8K.html?id=426. The Bearcats will now have a two-week layoff before returning to action on November 1st at the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championships hosted by Thomas More College in Cincinnati, OH.