Titans Almost Perfect In Season Debut

UW-Oshkosh was nearly perfect as it opened the 2009 season with a dominating first-place finish at the Carroll University Men's Cross Country Invitational held Saturday (Sept. 12) in Waukesha.

UW-Oshkosh won the seven-team meet with 16 points, one point over the minimum. The Titans owned nine of the meet's top 10 runners, including Nate Stymiest (So. • Oconto Falls) who completed the 8,000-meter course in a first-place time of 26:19.

Illinois Institute of Technology finished second in the team standings with 64 points, while Carroll University placed third with 76, Beloit College fourth with 106, Milwaukee School of Engineering fifth with 130, Maranatha Baptist Bible College sixth with 187 and Lake Forest College (Ill.) seventh with 188.

UW-Oshkosh, which entered the meet ranked 17th in the NCAA Division III by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, swept the top four individual listings. Following Stymiest's victory, the Titans had Mark Allen (Fr. • Port Washington) finish second with a time of 26:22, Josh Hoff (Sr. • Boyceville) third in 26:27 and Jonathan Wylie (Fr. • Oshkosh) fourth in 26:35.

After Carroll University's Anthony Sobrilsky finished fifth with a time of 26:36, UW-Oshkosh put five more runners together as Dusty Dorshorst (Sr. • Poynette) placed sixth in 26:38, Jake Keehan (So. • Green Bay) seventh in 26:52, John Dewitt (Fr. • Oshkosh) eighth in 26:57, Mike Jarchow (So. • Oshkosh) ninth in 27:04 and Ben Wizner (Sr. • Onalaska) 10th in 27:17.

The Titans had nine other runners place in the top 30 as Grant O'Connell (Jr. • Appleton) finished 12th in 27:30, Andrew Vos (Jr. • Fort Atkinson) 15th in 27:51, William Koepp (Jr. • Lake Nebagamon) 17th in 28:00, Brian Peterson (So. • Toluca, Ill.) 19th in 28:06, Tim Schraufnagel (Fr. • Neenah) 22nd in 28:21, Justin Darrow (Sr. • Sobieski) 24th in 28:35, Jeff Baudry (Sr. • Oakfield) 25th in 28:37, Nick Newcomer (So. • Winnebago, Ill.) 29th in 28:51 and Brett DeNure (Fr. • Monroe) 30th in 28:55.

UW-Oshkosh returns to action by competing at next Saturday's (Sept. 19) UW-Whitewater Invitational.