CANTON, OHIO -- Race time temperatures in the low 90's along with a wide open course seemed to have a major affect on everyone at the Malone Invitational in Canton, Ohio. The Grizzlies did their best to survive! Unfortunately, we lost our #1 runner, freshman Bill Monnett, to heat exhaustion with about a half mile to go in the race. After working his way up to sixth place overall, Bill collapsed and was rushed to the hospital for recovery. He is okay now, but none of us will ever forget what he went through! The rest of the guys did their best to make up for the loss. Freshman Ryan Bissell was the leader for the day finishing in 12th place (28:53), followed closely by Brian Phillips in 14th place (29:08). Rounding out the top five scorers were Kurt Brinker in 26th place (30:17), Joel Sellentine in 32nd place (31:00), and Josh Lyon in 46th place (32:55). After losing Bill, the men still managed to pull out a 3rd place finish, just 10 points behind 2nd place.
The women's race followed the men's, so they saw the worst of the heat. Fortunately, we did not have any overheating on the women's side! Once again, junior Jeanine Chura led the way with a 7th place finish and a time of 20:08. Following closely behind was Betsy Speer in 8th place (20:24) and Jennifer Kunst in 11th (20:40). Rounding out the top 7 for the ladies was Ann Dzeroogian in 54th (23:13), Kristin Lenderman in 55th (23:20), Sarah George in 68th (24:04), and Colleen Fradette in 72nd (24:26). The Grizzly girls fought through the heat for a 3rd place team finish.
