Wet, cold and slushy conditions did not hamper a strong race from sophomore Drew Clark, cheered on along with his teammates by close friends, classmates and Principia families. He led from the gun to the finish with no threat of a come-from-behind on any competitors, but Fontbonne University kept their racing strategy to a tight pack. This tactic prevailed against Principia College's men's team with an 11-point margin. Clark won the meet with his time of 17:09.
Senior captain
Justin Sinichko came through the finish line as the third-place finisher behind a strong Fontbonne University runner who he just could not hold onto in the last mile. Sinichko finished in 17:54. In sixth place,
Jeff Strickland stayed true to form with a big kick to the finish in 18:18. As he has been stepping up in practice each week,
Duncan Wilder ran a strong fourth-place for the men's team capturing 11
th-place in 18:45. Barely missing the cut-off for a 15
th-place finish,
Nathan Sharp pushed through the course as men's team fifth runner in 19:27.
The men's team pulled through for a second-place finish behind a strong Fontbonne crew. Many cheers and cowbells rang through the frigid air as a collegiate and open athletes treaded a shaky and sloppy course. No bad weather could keep any from enjoying a cold slice of pie and bottle of root beer at the conclusion of the 9
th-annual Cowbell Classic.
Principia College travels to Illinois College on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. in Jacksonville, Illinois.
2009 Principia Cowbell Classic Men’s Results
1. Drew Clark PC 17:09
2. Todd Schulte FC 17:44
3. Justin Sinichko PC 17:54
4. Ethan Blakely FC 18:06
5. Mike Horn FC 18:11
6. Jeff Strickland PC 18:18
7. Ian Lindquist FC 18:31
8. Zach Kassman FC 18:33
9. Dustin Lindsey OCU 18:35
10. Joe Heidbreder IC 18:38
11. Duncan Wilder PC 18:45
12. Ryan Bishop IC 18:58
13. Alex Umholtz IC 19:11
14. Brett Miller IC 19:22
15. Brad Bloemer IC 19:22
16. Nathan Sharp PC 19:27
17. Shea Neas FC 19:40
18. Victor Stichnot WC 19:40
19. Austin Kingsbery PC 19:49
20. Paul Thurbon PC 19:53
21. Kelsey Rowland OCU 20:03
22. Kyle Garrett FC 20:04
23. Matt Nall IC 20:05
24. Reuben Livingston IC 20:06
25. *Shawn Morton PC 20:23
26. *Bill Boxdorfer FC 20:37
27. Charles James BC 20:44
28. *Sam Nickell PC 20:46
29. John Hardin WC 21:01
30. *Donnaven Aikins FC 21:07
31. Devin Baker WC 21:11
32. Marshall Petty BC 21:24
33. John Agusti FC 21:31
34. Derek Legg WC 21:37
35. *Andy Whitehead IC 22:16
36. *Tyler Cann IC 22:30
37. Mathew Murphy OCU 22:41
38. Corwin Ryck WC 23:03
39. *Jon Nacewicz PC 23:16
40. Paul Muther CS 23:20
41. Michael Copper WC 24:02
42. *Rigel Valentine PC 24:11
43. Dave Herald CS 24:28
44. David Strawhun WC 25:09
45. David Orzechowski BC 25:54
46. Yevhen Chepurnyy BC 27:05
47. Marcus Rich BC 29:04
48. Patrick Gumz CS 35:13
Team Scores:
1. Fontbonne Univ.: 26 (2,4,5,7,8, (17,22) )
2. Principia College: 37 (1,3,6,11,16, (19, 20) )
3. Illinois College: 64 (10,12,13,14, (23, 24) )
4. Westminster College: 130 (18,26,27,29,30, (34) )
5. Blackburn College: 161 (25,28,35,36,37)
6. Concordia Seminary: 180 (31,33,38,39,39)
* denotes non-scoring, non-displacing runners for teams with more than seven entered runners