UWF Harriers tune-up for the Conference Championships with 3 mile Intersquad Race :: Nick Maedel and Margaret Harter lead the Argo Runners

Oct. 12, 2007

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The West Florida Cross Country teams ran in an intersquad meet on the UWF campus Friday morning. The meet consisted of three co-ed teams of 5 runners each. The top four runners from each team were scored for team results. The UWF B Team won the event with 28 points, just ahead of the UWF A Team with 29, while the UWF C squad was third with 36 points. The teams were set up to be even in terms of abilities and previous race performance. The race was on a very hilly and tough course, thus no personal bests were set, but several runners had impressive times for the conditions.

Freshman Nicholas Maedel (Orange Park, Fla.), running for the B Squad, led all runners with a 16:22 time for the hilly three mile course. Running for the A squad, Jared Black (Fr. / Tallahassee, Fla.) and Justin Gates (Jr. / Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.), finished 2nd and 3rd in 16:52 and 16:53. Sean Jansen (Fr. / Lutz, Fla.) led the C squad with a fourth place finish in 17:02.

Coach Matt Dobson was pleased as he discussed the tune-up event. "The Men have a great history of being prepared for the post season. This year is no different. The guys are having strong practices, and all that they need to do is stay healthy and get plenty of rest before the biggest meets of the year arrive."

The team is still nursing some injuries, and Seniors Diana Sitar (Las Vegas, Nev.), Brian Gowin (Pensacola, Fla.), and Jordan Theuerkauf (Wausau, Wisc.) did not run, but are expected to be key runners in the post season races. The GSC Runner of the Week, Eric Mayes (Jr. / Pensacola, Fla.), was also rested to make sure he is ready for the conference meet.

Margaret Harter (Jr. / Milton, Fla.), running for the C squad, was the top Women's finisher in 20:29, followed closely by Kelli Midden (Fr. / Boca Raton, Fla.) in 20:39. Coach Dobson discussed the Women's post season prospects. "The Women are being led by veteran runners (Sitar and Harter), and they will be ready to run their best times of the season. Some of them have been distracted, and at times discouraged because of injuries. We will try to put all that behind us as we taper for the conference meet next week in Hoover, Ala."