2005 Cross Country Season Wrap-Up The University of the Cumberlands Cross Country teams accomplished a lot this year. Both teams were named Conference Champions, Region 11 Champions, and competed at the NAIA National Cross Country Championship. Many athletes attained their goal of setting new personal best times and performances. Both teams did especially well considering there where many new, young athletes. The seniors of the men’s team were Landon O’Bannon ( Camden, OH) and Nathan Barnes ( Burlington, KY) who red shirted the season. Breylen Derrick ( Ft. Thomas, KY), Brett Ratliff ( Pikeville, KY), Carl Roberts ( Austin, IN) and Brad Wells ( Portage, OH) were all sophomores. Freshman athletes for the season were Brian Jones ( Cawood, KY), Seth Darrell ( Monroe, KY), Josh Laughlin ( Bellbrook, OH), Trevor Laughlin ( Port Royal, KY), and Josphat Melly ( Kenya). For the ladies, the juniors dominated with sisters Kelly & Shelly Schnee ( Milan, OH). Also, juniors Meggy Rawe ( Alexandria, KY) and Kelly Seifert ( Lancaster, OH) were phenomenal. The lone sophomore was Whitney Brainard ( Somerset, KY). Seniors for UC were Michelle Warnky ( Columbus, OH) and Barb Davies ( Gibsonburg, OH). Christina Stodghill (Owensboro, KY), Melia Jewell (Cincinnati, OH), Vanity Vasquez (St. Cloud, FL) and Jennifer Lane (Louisa, VA) were all freshman, as well as Amber Stewart (Pineville, KY) who also was red shirting the season. Although this year the cross country team faced numerous injuries they still managed to compete well. The Patriots raced against many competitive teams this season. As for the Miami University Invitational, the men placed sixth and the women seventh. At the Greater Louisville Invitational, the men placed 20th followed by the women in 21st. The most difficult meet for the Patriots this season was the Furman University Invitational where the men finished in 17 th and the women completed the run in tenth place. The next competition was the Wilmington College Fall Classic. The men finished in fourth place and the women in third. At the Southeastern Classic, the ladies finished seventh and the men completed the course placing ninth. The Mid-South Regional Conference was a successful tournament for the Cumberlands. Both the men and women finished in first place. This competition led them to the NAIA National meet where the men finished 25th overall and the women 28th. This season, Kelly Schnee was named conference runner of the week four times and was also honored by the Mid-South Conference as the Runner of the Year. Josh Laughlin was named conference runner of the week once and was also honored as the Mid-South Conference’s Runner of the Year. Brad Wells was named conference runner of the week three times. Leaders on the team for this season were Kelly Schnee for the women and for the men Carl Roberts and Josh Laughlin. The highlight of the season was winning the conference and regional races and getting the opportunity to compete in the NAIA National Tournament once again. Coach Stroud, who was named the Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year said, “We are very pleased that we met our goals of winning the Conference and NAIA region races and that we were able to, once again, compete in the NAIA National Tournament.”
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