Cross Country teams both finish strong in Conference Champs

Nick Brunner

Co-Sports Editor

Pumpkins, costume parties, and those crazy leaf-eating machines sucking up all the fallen leaves from the grounds of McDaniel, must mean the seasons are a’ changing once again here in Westminster. And you know what that means; the men and women of the Terror cross country team have their hearts set on bring home a Centennial Conference Championship.

In what would be considered an up and down season as far as record and standings are concerned, the Terror men and women have worked extremely hard and have found team chemistry that some teams never do. In a season defined by a number of outstanding individual efforts contributing to the team goal, the Conference Championships in Gettysburg were no exception.

On the men’s side, Westminster’s own Rob Kelvey led the way for the Terror finishing 22nd overall. Unfortunately for McDaniel and the rest of the conference the boys from Dickinson nearly swept the top five and took their second straight title, setting a record with sixteen points in the process. Although the men finished ninth in the conference, it was a hard fought season on which they will look to improve upon in the future.

On the women’s side, the ladies finished up in eighth place. The two standout performers who led the Terror women were Lindsay Wilson who finished 23rd and the Freepress’ own Roxanne Fleischer who finished 34th in the field of over one hundred competitors. At the end of the day, John Hopkins brought home their second straight title but it was a good season all in all for the Terror women.

Lindsay Wilson laid out the blueprint for what was a very successful individual season for her. She accredited hard work and her teammates, explaining, “We have all been working really hard since August and have bonded really well as a team. Everyone on the team has someone to train with and it really helps to push each other at practice.”

While the final results may not have had the Green Terror on top of the conference this year, the future is still bright for runners at McDaniel. Wilson went on to add, “We are still pretty young and only graduating four seniors, so we have a lot of room to grow. We have a great deal of potential, and have a promising future for the upcoming indoor and outdoor track seasons as well as next year.”

Well, there you have it, sounds like there is a lot to look forward to when it comes to the future of the McDaniel cross country program.