Freshmen Lead the Way for the CC Teams

The Cross Country teams traveled to Cincinnati this weekend to participate in the Queen City Invitational. With the field hosting teams from all levels including Division I and Division II, the Golden Eagles ran their way to an impressive 6th place finish on the men’s side. Leading the way and coming in 31st over all was Alec Zaremba, from Shelby County HS, who ran a time of 17:01 for the 5K. Alec begins his first year running at the collegiate level and has already made an impression on his coach. “Alec led the group of 3 freshmen that finished well for us in this race,” Head Coach Kevin Alessandro commented, “having a guy that young lead our group is great for this program.”

The other two freshmen that Coach Alessandro mentioned were JJ Depasco and Abram Deng.  Depasco, also from Shelby County HS, finished in 43rd place with a time of 17:25. Coming right behind Depasco was Louisville native, Abram Deng , who finished 46th with a time of 17:25. There is no doubt that the coaches feel these three can make in impact right away. “These three freshmen are a dynamic 1-2-3 punch for this team and we as a staff are excited to see them compete as the year goes on.

On the women’s side it was once again youth that prevailed through the weekend. The top three runners for the women were Kerry Campbell who finished 67th, while Sarah Hodge and Liz Schooler finished 69th and 70th respectively. Even though the season is very young, a couple women have stepped up and taken a leadership role on the team. “Kerry Campbell established herself as the top Golden Eagle harrier, “Alessandro states, “though Sarah Hodge pushed the pace early to set them up for a successful race on a tough course this past Saturday.”

Due to a timing malfunction the women’s team is still awaiting their official finishing place. There was an error that caused the last two runners scores not to be reported at the conclusion of the race but this will be resolved shortly. Next weekend both teams will be traveling to Berea College for the Berea College Invitational.