Muleskinner

Issue date: 11/9/06 Section: Sports

end of the road- Jennies' runners (from left) Danielle Nagel, Alison Kelley, and Sandy Davidson compete in the South Central Regional Saturday.

A third-place finish at the South Central Regional meet for UCM's men's cross country team has opened the door for an opportnity to compete in the NCAA D-II National Meet in Pensacola, Fla., Nov. 18. The Jennies, who also placed third, this weekend, missed qualifying.

This marks the 13th straight year the Mules have qualified for the national meet.

"We have always considered it to be a positive presser," Dennis Hill said. "We had twelve in a row, and we just wanted to keep that going. It's a confidence booster if anything."

"It's great to have qualified 13 years in a row," said head coach Kirk Pedersen. "It says a lot about the program and a lot about the athletes that have been here. I'm very proud of that coming from our program."

The men's team finished behind Abilene Christian with 18 points and Missouri Southern with 73 points. UCM scored 100 points.

"Everyone ran to the best of their ability and left it all on the course," Hill said. "You can't ask for anymore than that."

The Mules were led by All-Regional runners, Adam Akers, who placed 7th and ran the 10 km course in a time of 32:11.70, and Joe Mundt who finished 14th with a time of 32:39.70. To be an All-Regional runner one must place in the top 15 at the regional meet.

"Adam Akers and Joe Mundt have been our top runners all year," Hill said. "They took home some hardware, and that is always nice to see."

The Mules also had two other runners in the top 20. Hill finished 18th, with a time of 32:55.90, and David Fuchs was 19th in a time of 33:00.90.

"We had four guys in the top 20, and that was a staple for us," Hill said. "Without them, we wouldn't have qualified."
"The biggest highlight at this meet was seeing David Fuchs run the way he did," Pedersen said. "He couldn't make it into our top 10 last season, and now this year, he is scoring points for us at the region meet."

The Mules will finish their season in two weeks at the national meet.

"We haven't raced well at the national meet in recent years," Pedersen said. "So, hopefully, we can go in there relaxed. We are just going to go and try to beat teams that we have been trying to beat all year, like Missouri Southern."

Continued...

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