By Bill Hanefeld Jr., interim sports information director
September 16, 2005

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University cross country teams hosted the first Beaver Invitational and they were both victorious in the inaugural event. The Beaver Invitational included teams from Heidelberg College and Transylvania University along with individual entries from Myers University. 

Senior DAN ROSEBROCK (Napoleon/Napoleon) finished first in the eight-kilometer men's event with a time of 27:53:13.  He was followed to the finish line by three Beavers as Bluffton had the first four finishers. Sophomore HILLARY SHILISIO (Eldoret, Kenya) placed second with a time of 29:30.71, senior PATRICK COOLEY (Ludlow Falls/Milton Union) finished third in 29:44.77 and sophomore MIKE KOCH (Liberty Center/Liberty Center) came in fourth with a time of 30:02.08. Beaver runners DAVE ESPINOZA (Toledo/Whitmer), TYLER FAIRCHILD(Toledo/Whitmer), PETER HUSTED (Carrollton/Carrollton) and JOHNNY ICHRIST(Toledo/Whitmer) rounded out the Beaver scoring as they finished in ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth place respectively.

Sophomore SARAH HUMPHREY (Upper Sandusky/Upper Sandusky) won the six-kilometer women's event with a time of 24:31.98. Senior JENNIFER CREAMER (Westerville/Westerville South) placed second with a time of 25:02.73 and sophomore BREE FETTERMAN (North Royalton/Padua) crossed the finish line in 26:26.20 to place third.  Two sport senior standout STEPHANIE WELCH (Berne, Ind/South Adams) ran the course in 26:44.11 to finish in fifth place.  Freshman ASHLEY SMITH (Delta/Delta) also finished in the top ten with a time of 27:52.67.  Junior LAUREN BAILEY (Powell/ Upper Arlington) placed 13th with a time of 28:57.43 and senior ALICIA STANKO (Findlay/Liberty Benton) finished in 18th place with a time of 31:23.59. 

The cross country team will return to action on Saturday, September 24 when they travel to the Otterbein Invitational.