Ravens Look to Keep Streak Alive at HCAC Cross Country Championships
October 29, 2008
NORTH MANCHESTER , IN - The HCAC men's and women's cross country championships will take place Saturday, November 1 at Manchester College. Anderson will be looking to claim the school's tenth straight men's conference championship, while the women will be looking for their seventh straight. Franklin , Rose-Hulman, and Manchester look to challenge the Ravens this weekend to dethrone the AU dynasty.
The Ravens have been led by Matt Helm (Wabash , Ind. ) this season after losing HCAC champion Sean Hudson to graduation. Helm finished fourth at the Manchester Invitational for his best finish of the season, finishing one second behind Andy Williams (Middlebury , Ind. ) of Manchester with a time of 25:57.
The Ravens have not fared well against HCAC foes in meets this season. Franklin, Manchester, and Rose-Hulman have finished ahead of the Ravens in meets this fall, including an appearance at the Indiana Little State meet. Manchester finished ahead of its fellow conference competition, placing fourth in the 15 team event. Williams finished 14 th overall at Little State and was the first Division III finisher with a time of 26:44.
A couple other runners look to challenge Helm and Williams for the individual title Saturday. Franklin 's Brandon Welti (Sunman , Ind. ) has had a successful senior season, finishing fourth out of 270 runners at the Gettysburg (PA) Invitational and placing first in the season-opening Franklin Invitational. Rose-Hulman's Stephen Boedicker (Delaware , Ohio ) won the individual title and led the Engineers to the team championship at the Earlham Invitational with a time of 26:40.
The Ravens women finished fourth at the Manchester Invitational on October 18 for their best finish of the season. Anderson finished behind Manchester and Franklin and just ahead of Rose-Hulman at the Indiana Little State meet in September. Manchester 's Megan Miller (Goshen , Ind. ) placed 10 th overall and was the third Division III finisher at the Indiana Little State Meet with a time of 19:48. Miller also finished 13 th out of 280 runners at the Otterbein Pre-Regional meet.
Rose-Hulman's Susan Nickol (Solon, Ohio ) and Melissa Rogers (Crawfordsville , Ind. ) have paced the Engineers this fall and will look to contend for the conference championship Saturday. Nickol finished fourth overall at Earlham, while Rogers led the Engineers with a seventh place finish at Wilmington (OH).
The top 12 finishers on the men's and women's side will be named All-HCAC, while the top freshman finisher will be named Freshman of the Year. Individuals who finish 13 th through 20 th at the conference meet will be named Honorable Mention All-HCAC.
The women will compete on a 6K course Saturday while the men will run the 8K course. Action will get underway from Manchester College at 11 AM.
Returning All-HCAC Runners from 2007
| Name (Men) | School | Time (8K) |
| Brandon Welti | Franklin | 26:43 |
| Troy Pryor | Anderson | 26:56 |
| Matt Helm | Anderson | 26:59 |
| Sean Kennedy | Franklin | 27:08 |
| David Caldwell | Rose-Hulman | 27:13 |
| Stephen Boedicker | Rose-Hulman | 27:15 |
| Andy Williams | Manchester | 27:23 |
| Name (Women) | School | Time (6K) |
| Melissa Rogers | Rose-Hulman | 24:08 |
| Erica Moffitt | Anderson | 24:17 |
| Michelle Heck | Franklin | 24:32 |