The Bearcats fought through rainy and windy conditions on their home course to take second place at the 2009 Presidents' Athletic Conference Championships.

In a balanced team effort, the team's first seven finishers all placed in the top-13 overall, led by Kevin Wanichko's second place time of 27:24.

Shane Simmons finished seventh individually, timed in 28:07 on the 8K course, while teammate Cam Stumme took eighth (28:11), Adam Tucek ninth (28:12), Jeff Hite 11th (28:16), Tyler Blair 12th (28:24), and Ryan Barlow 13th (28:27).  All seven runners received PAC Coaches Honors, the equivalent of all-conference recognition for runners from schools, like Saint Vincent, that are provisional NCAA Division-III members.  

It marks the second consecutive season that Wanichko and Barlow were honored by the conference for their performance at the PAC Championship meet.

The Bearcats, who tallied a team score of 37, were edged out for the team championship by Grove City, who finished with 29 points, for their tenth consecutive conference cross country championship.

The Wolverines were paced by junior Garett Cichowitz, who earned the individual championship with a first-place time of 26:41.  It was Chichowitz's second victory of the season on the Saint Vincent course, as on Sept. 26th, he earned the individual title at the Saint Vincent Invitational.

After Grove City and SVC, Thiel College took third as a team, with a score of 98, followed by Geneva (129), Westminster (148), Washington & Jefferson (149), Waynesburg (176), and Thomas More (210).  Full results from the race can be found HERE

The Bearcats will now wrap up the 2009 season next Saturday morning, taking part in the ECAC Championships in Williamstown, MA.