Bill Sudeck Classic

This past Saturday down on the farm just outside of Cleveland, Ohio the men's and women's cross country teams started their seasons at Case Western Reserve's Bill Sudeck Classic.  A change of weather from previous years, from extreme heat to a torrential downpour, 50 degree weather, and wind gusts up to 40 mph, upped the stakes for all runners in the race.  The Gator Men entered the race with the intention of remaining relaxed and packing up until the last mile where they could challenge themselves and each other to see who had the fastest finish.  The front pack of Chris Marker, Jeramie Parker, and Pat McLaughlin separated themselves from the rest of the crowd at the 2nd half and finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively.  Zac Ross and Mike Vlah rounded out the scorers for the Gators finishing in 6th and 7th place.  The team score for the Gators was a mere 19 points, as they won the Bill Sudeck Classic for the first time in Allegheny history.  More impressive was the spread from the first gator to the 5th which was only 22 seconds.  Case Western Reserve was 2nd with 44 points.
The Lady Gators remained stubborn despite the loss of top 5 runner Samantha Zink due to illness moments before the race.  Kelly Gallagher led the way for the Gators, placing 4th overall.  6th and 7th place belonged to Kristina Martin and Katie Stancik who followed shortly after Gallagher.  The next runner for the Lady Gators was Amber Wetzel in 23rd place.  Laura Heltman closed out the scorers for the Gators in 42nd place.  In the team score, Nationally ranked Case Western (23rd) and Baldwin-Wallace (29th) claimed the top two spots with 34 points and 61 points, respectively.  Impressively, the Allegheny women took the 3rd spot with 69 points, even without the aid of Zink.
The next meet for both teams is the Pre-Regional race at Cooper's Lake in Slippery Rock, PA at the end of September.