Friday, July 11, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Marietta XC, 2008
The Marietta Pioneers lose two top 5 scorers from last year’s team. They will miss the leadership of 2007 Clyde Lamb honoree Harrison Potter who has been the number one runner for Marietta at each of the last three OAC Championships. In addition to losing Potter, John Hull graduates (#3 runner at the OAC Championships and #4 runner at the Great Lakes Regional).
Despite the loss of senior leadership, Marietta has the potential to improve on their 8th place performance from last year. Josh Mickle did not even score for the Pioneers at last year’s OAC Championships, but he is coming off a solid track season where he ran a time of 4:07.90 in the middle of March. If Mickle is able to build a solid base this summer, he is fully capable of filling Potter’s shoes as the number one runner. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, it seems like they will be without another possible front runner in Jered Mitchem. Mitchem was the runner up in the 800 at the OAC Outdoor Meet, but Marietta’s web page does not list him on their Cross Country Roster.
Along with Mickle, potential scoring runners include Michael Siringer (Junior; 9:25 3000m indoors), Max Kenngott (Soph; returning #2 scorer from last year’s OAC Meet and #1 returning runner from last year’s Regional Meet), and Cody Thomas (returning #3 runner).
Last year, Potter was the only Pioneer harrier to run under 27:00. This year’s squad could realistically have Siringer and Kengott meeting or exceeding Potter’s contributions with Mickle as a solid front runner.
Things are definitely looking up for Marietta as the 2008 season approaches. Look for the Pioneers to make significant progress under Coach Derek Stanley this fall.