by Chris Johnston
Campus Times Staff
While the rest of the UR students were busy getting moved into their rooms, the men?s cross country team was busy demolishing its opening opponent.
On Sept. 1, the Yellowjackets trampled over the SUNY Brock-port Golden Eagles at the Sixth Annual Brockport Kick-Off Classic with a score of 20-37.
And UR?s new legs came prepared. It didn?t take long for freshman Dan Duett to get used to collegiate cross country.
He used the guidance of teammate sophomore Kevin Mille to get across the finish line.
Duett edged Mille out at the finish and he wrapped up with a time of 28:49. His time was good enough for second place. Mille finished in third.
?Dan had a great run for us,? coach John Izzo said.
?He?s one of a number of gifted freshmen on our team.?
The truck kept on rolling for UR as the Yellowjackets proceeded to occupy the next three places after Mille. The only hope that Brockport had came from the legs of junior Dave Bolen who ran a winning time of 28:09.
Aside from Bolen?s first-place finish, the Golden Eagles could only muster a seventh, eighth and ninth place finish.
UR sophomore Alex Voetsch, senior Scott Rhodes, senior captain Jon Salerno and junior Justin Panarese all finished in the top ten.
Senior Andy MacMillan also had an impressive performance, placing 11th for UR.
?It?s a lot easier to push hard through the tough parts of the race when you are running with your teammates and supporting each other,? said sophomore Alex Voetsch.
If the team performance was not enough to send a message out to the rest of the University Athletic Association, the fact that UR did this well without the help of their best runner, junior Dave ?The Ace? Messenheimer should.
With the full support of his coaching staff and team-mates Messenhei-mer was busy turning a few heads in the triathlon circuit in Colorado.
He placed eighth overall and third in his age group.
?We knew that it would be a tough transition from competing in triathlons to competing in cross country meets, but we know Dave will be ready by the time the important meets come around.?
Messenheimer?s performance qualified him for the Amateur World Triathlon Championships to be held in November 2002.
The Yellowjackets have been gearing up for their next big challenge as they will face a strong Rochester Institute of Technology squad and SUNY Fredonia teams Saturday.
?This is our first test against a strong team, and we are excited to make a statement,? Mille said.
Chris Johnston can be reached at cjohnston@campustimes.org.
