Men's Cross Country Report (Week 1) - Franklin Places First at Grizzly Invitational

GREENWOOD, IN- The Franklin College men's cross country team hit the 2009 in stride, claiming first place at the Sodexho Grizzly Invitational at Johnson County Horse Park on September 5.  The Franklin runners totaled 68 points to earn their fourth straight team championship in the event, edging Earlham by five points in the team standings.

Franklin's Jake Hojnacki (LaPorte, Ind./H.S.) was the Grizzlies top finisher, claiming third place with a time of 26:45.29 on the 8K course.  Kevin Martin (Mitchell, Ind./H.S.) and Scotch Swango (North Salem, Ind./Tri-West) each finished in the top 15 for the blue and gold.  Martin finished 11th with a time of 27:40.73, while Swango placed 13th with a personal-best time of 27:47.68.

Hanover also ran at the Grizzly Invite Saturday morning.  The Panthers finished seventh out of the eight competing schools.  Freshman Brock Harkness (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) paced Hanover with an 18th place finish (28.35.07).

Anderson University spent the weekend competing in the Wabash Hokum Karem.  The Ravens finished fifth place out of five teams with a score of 33.  The tandem of freshman Kirk Saunders (Bloomington, Ill.) and sophomore Jake Wyatt (Hudson, Ind.) led the Ravens with an eight place finish (29:40).

This weekend's schedule is highlighted by the Defiance and Hanover Invitational.  Bluffton and Defiance will compete at Defiance, while Hanover and Franklin will battle in southern Indiana.

In other action, Manchester will travel to Bowling Green and Mount St. Joseph and Transylvania open the season at the Queen City Invitational.