Harriers finish fifteenth at nationals in Minnesota; Berdan finishes tops for Etown

By Jarrad Hedes

The Elizabethtown College men’s cross country team set a goal at the start of this season. It was quite simple. Finish in the top 10 in the country at the national meet in Minnesota.

The national meet took place on Saturday Nov. 23, at St Olaf College in Minnesota. The result was not what the Blue Jays were hoping for but a respectable finish nonetheless. The team finished 15th in the nation as they put up a score of 383 points at the meet.

It was not all a disappointment for Elizabethtown, as it was the third time in the past four years that the Blue Jays have ran in the national championship meet, which included a 24-team field.

As has become a custom when the Jays run in a meet, they did set a first for the school. It was the first time Elizabethtown was the top finisher at the meet among the teams that comprise the Mideast region. Haverford and Allegheny, the other two Mideast region teams competing, finished 19th and 24th respectivley.

Senior Dave Berdan was the first Blue Jay to cross the finish line in Minnesota. He placed 44th overall in the race that included 215 runners in all. Berdan had a time of 25:56 over the 8k course.

As for individuals running in the race as part of a team, Berdan finished in 29th position.

Berdan sat out the start of the season with nagging injuries and continued to deal with those problems throughout the season, limiting his performance. He had not been the top runner for Etown since last cross country season.

In fact, Saturday’s race was the first time he led the varsity squad in 2002 after being the team’s top runner in both his sophomore and junior years. Berdan just missed out on All-American honors, as you have to finish in the top 35 to earn that distinction.

The number two finisher for Elizabethtown was sophomore Steve Sanko. Sanko came in at 75th overall and 51st among runners competing as part of a team. He posted a time of 26:12 to earn that finish.

A 2001 All-American, senior Dustin Scott was the third place runner for the Jays. Scott finished in 114th overall and 84th among runners on teams at the event. He toured the course at 26:31.

Another sophomore, Matt Rockwell, came in fourth for Elizabethtown. Rockwell brought home 139th overall and 105th place among runners on a team.

Wrapping up the the top five for the Jays was junior runner Josh Lyman. Lyman finished the course in 26:58 for a 152nd overall finish and a 114th finish among runners on teams.

Fellow junior Sean Mulcahy and sophomore Jose Miranda posted a sixth and seventh place finish respectively for Elizabethtown.

The national title was taken home by Wisconsin-Oshkosh, who notched a score of 66 points. Coming in second place was Calvin College, 56 points behind Oshkosh with 122.

This brings an end to the men’s cross country season but reaching nationals is always a great feat so there are positives to take from the season.

There is not much time to reflect however as the indoor track season kicks up soon and many of these runners will be major factors for that team as well.

In fact, the indoor track team opens tomorrow at the Bucknell Opener in Lewisburg, Pa. That meet is scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m. The Jays will then break for the holidays and compete again on Jan. 18 at the Lebanon Valley Invitational in Annville, Pa.

In addition, the MAC announced a clean sweep for the Jays in the postseason awards. Scott nailed down the Runner of the Year as the winner of the conference meet. Greg Wetzel, who spent most of the season on the JV squad, impressed with several late season performances and took home the Rookie of the Year award.