Sports
Clarion Cross Country on the Rise
From Left: Kellie Wyatt, Megan Toddy and Ciara Shorts (Courtesy Photo / The Clarion Call)
Clarion University’s women’s cross country team has had a successful season thus far.
It started with their opening invite, where they took first place.
They won by a large margin, 71 to 108.
The team placed five runners in the top 24.
Freshman Melia Schall and sophomore Megan Toddy were in the top 10 for the Golden Eagles, with Schall taking eighth place with a time of 24:47.4 and Toddy 10th
with a time of 24:57.7.
Junior Ciara Shorts contributed by finishing 13th with a time of 25:20.9.
The other two Golden Eagles to place in the top 25 were freshmen Kellie Wyatt (16th, 25:27.6) and Rachel Munsee (24th 25:51.2).
Head Coach D.J. Bevevino was told by senior Jamie Wyatt, that she “had never been on a team that won in college.”
“Nobody else ever won in college either. We are in one of the most competitive conferences, and had a freshman lead us. The girls didn’t really have confidence
in the past, but this was huge for their confidence. It really helped us,” Bevevino said.
Coach Bevevino mentioned Shorts as one of his best runners on the team and it has showed so far this season.
Shorts recently led Clarion to a fourth-place finish after finishing fourth at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational held on Oct. 8. She finished with a time of
19:20.8.
“She is no question the workhorse of the team, and makes sure everyone else is working hard. She pushes too hard sometimes, but in the end it’s all worth it,”
Bevevino said of Shorts.
Two other Eagles finished in the top 20 of the Carnegie Mellon race. Toddy finished 19th with a time of 19:52.7 and Kellie Wyatt finished 20th with a time of
19:52.9.
Coach Bevevino talked about how his team has improved since the opening invite, and how big that is for the rest of the season.
“The first competition they realized how well they could do. You don’t know how you compare to other teams. They continue to improve their times, especially
pace times, and their confidence continues to grow,” Bevevino said.
Bevevino has had a lot of success in his career as an athlete, coach and teacher.
He feels experience is a big thing he implements as a coach to this cross country team.
He was an All-American diver here at Clarion.
“Its great being here, special place to me. The opportunity is tremendous. I experienced real cohesiveness here, and I would love my athletes to feel that too,”
Bevevino said.
Bevevino says that the team goal for the rest of the season is to remain healthy, get their legs fresh and to finish in the top 10 of the conference and
region.
Clarion will be in action the next three weekends.
Next weekend, Oct. 15, they will travel to the Gannon/Mercyhurst Invite.
A week later they will head to the PSAC invite held at Lock Haven University.
They will conclude their season at the NCAA Regionals, which take place at Slippery Rock University.
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