Rams Place Third

The men's cross country team got off to a successful start at the West Liberty Cross Country Invitational on September 2. Shepherd placed three runners in the top 15 of the invitational and placed third as a team, with 68 points.

Conditions were far from excellent for the Rams, as they ran an extremely difficult course on a day with high temperatures and humidity. The course included creek crossings, log jumps, a mud pit, and several steep hills.

Junior Matt Wamsley and sophomores Chris McCully and Bill Reinckens paced the Rams, finishing 10th, 11th, and 15th, respectively. Freshman Danny Channell and junior Jason Lysne rounded out Shepherd's varsity squad, finishing within five seconds of each other, in 18th and 19th place.

On September 9, Shepherd will host their own invitational on the course at Shepherd College. The women will race at 11 a.m. and the men will follow at noon.

-Chris McCully

Rams Set New Standard With First Win

The Shepherd Ram's Girls Cross-Country team has set forth new expectations for the future by winning their first team title ever.

On September 2nd, the Lady Rams traveled to West Liberty State College to compete in the 2000 West Liberty Cross-Country Invitational. Overcoming the pressure put on by runner-up Frostburg State University, was not the only diversity the ladies faced. The course was one of the biggest challenges.

West Liberty should win an award for the best "real cross-country" course. A creek that was five feet wide, 18 inches deep, and banked with three feet mud walls was the first challenge the ladies had to leap through. Accompanying the creek were a few other creeks, about five large logs, an area approximately 13 feet by 13 feet filled with 12 inches of gushy black mud which stole some runners shoes permanently, and also hills that could almost be considered totally vertical. This small description doesn't justify the challenge, the fun, and the perseverence it took the Rams and any runner to conquer the course.

Overcoming these physical obstacles plus that of the immense heat of the mid-day race was what lead the Lady Rams to success. Finishing their top five scorers in the top eight runners is what created the solid win for the Rams. The tight pack of Elizabeth Lowrie, Tiffany Moskel, Jessica Schneider, Lisa Bailey, and Rebecca Kenney totaled the 26 points for the team win. The girls respectively finished third, fourth, fifth, six, and eighth in the race. However, was it not for the concrete performances of Jeanette Wilson, Marsha Soergel, and Stephanie Brazel who held back many other competitors from moving in on the Ram's win. Wilson, Soergel, and Brazel respectively finished 11th, 12th, and 22nd.

Megan McNew from Frostburg State University captured the individual title and led Frostburg to a second place finish with West Liberty State finishing third.

After much preparation and practice, the Lady Rams along with the men's team and Coach Robert Morris will be returning to West Liberty State College for their conference championship on October 27.

-Elizabeth Lowrie