Both the Saint Vincent men's and women's cross country teams opened up the 2009 season by hosting the fifth annual Saint Vincent College Alumni Run.

In men's action, 2006 graduate Brian Robson took the individual championship, finishing the 5K in 16:35.  The team title, however, was won by the current Bearcat squad by a 25-30 score.

SVC's Kevin Wanichko took second individually, finishing with a time of 16:50, followed closely behind by teammate Josh Hooke (16:51).  Rounding out the top finishers for the current squad, Shane Simmons finished fifth (17:01), Cameron Stumme seventh (17:12), Ryan Barlow eighth (17:19), Adam Tucek 11th (17:25), and Jeff Hite 12th (17:33).

Following Robson, the Alumni Team's top finishers were 2005 grad TJ Black, who took fourth (16:54), 2007 grad Nate Sylvester sixth (17:10), 2008 grad Jim Walsh ninth (17:20), 2007 grad Thaddeus Pajak 10th (17:21), 2006 grad Patrick Hauser 18th (17:52), and 2008 grad Tim O'Mara 21st (18:31).

The Bearcats faced a tough field of competitors, as they opened the season by participating in the Duquesne Duals at Pittsburgh's Schenley Park.

The meet was scored as a series of duals between the nine competing schools, with the Bearcats going 3-5, defeating Division-I foes St. Bonaventure and Niagara, as well as Carnegie Mellon.  SVC was defeated by Pitt, Duquesne, Juniata, Canisius, and Wheeling Jesuit.

Leading the way for the Bearcats was sophomore Kevin Wanichko, who finished 33rd with a time of 27:31.

Josh Hooke followed closely behind Wanichko, taking 38th with a time of 27:40, while Ryan Barlow took 52nd (28:16), Matt Hagg 57th (28:29), Adam Tucek 59th (28:31), Cam Stumme 64th (28:41), and Jeff Hite 67th (28:54).

Mike Stolar of Duquesne earned the individual gold, finishing with a time of 25:11, while the Dukes also earned the team title by finishing 7-0-1.

The Saint Vincent Bearcats finished 7th among 25 teams in the small college division of the National Catholic Invitational, held at the University of Notre Dame.

Overall, including Division I schools, SVC ranked 13th among 32 teams.

Kevin Wanichko led the team with a time of 27:11 for the 5-mile distance, finishing 55th of 248 total runners.  Josh Hooke was timed in 27:48 (78th).  Rounding out the top seven for Saint Vincent were Ryan Barlow (27:42), Jeff Hite (27:46), Shane Simmons (27:49), Adam Tucek (28:26) and Tyler Blair (28:51).

In the JV race, Charles Horne finished 13th in a time of 28:32, while Lucas Briola was 16th (28:39).

For complete results, click here.

The Bearcats captured the 2009 Saint Vincent Invitational, as nine SVC runners placed in the top 25.

Kevin Wanichko led the way for the Bearcats, taking second place with a time of 26:15.  The Bearcats also had four other medalists, with Adam Tucek taking 10th (27:03), Josh hooke 11th (27:06), Ryan Barlow 12th (27:07), and Shane Simmons 13th (27:10).

Rounding out the SVC finishers, Jeff Hite took 20th (27:31), Matt Hagg 21st (27:33), Cam Stumme 23rd (27:45), and Tyler Blair 24th (27:51).

Grove City's Garett Cichowitz earned the overall invitational title, covering the 8K course in 26:03.  

In the team standings, the Bearcats were followed by Grove City, which took second, Hagerstown CC (3rd), Thiel (4th), Franciscan (5th), Geneva (6th), Westminster (7th), Davis & Elkins (8th), Penn State-Altoona (9th), Waynesburg (10th), Pitt-Greensburg (11th), and Mt. Aloysius (12th).

It was the second straight year in which the Bearcats captured their own invitational.

The Saint Vincent men finished fifth among 14 teams in the Carnegie Mellon University Invitational in Pittsburgh.

CMU won the team event with a score of 29, followed by the CMU Alumni Team (62), Duquesne (90), and the University of Mary Washington (90).  Saint Vincent rounded out the top five with a score of 100.

Kevin Wanichko finished seventh overall, timed in 26:19.  Overall 153 runners were in the field.

Also for SVC, Adam Tucek was 22nd (27:05), Ryan Barlow finished 23rd (27:11), Josh Hooke was 27th (27:20), Matt Hagg (27:21), Shane Simmons finished 32nd (27:29) and Jeff Hite was 37th (27:42), completing the team's top seven.

SVC's men's cross country team competed in the Interregional Rumble at Oberlin College in Ohio. The team finished 14th out of 28 teams with 404 points.
 
The team was led by Kevin Wanichko, who finished 14th out of 245 runners in a time of 25:28. His time is a personal best and the 3rd fastest 5-mile time ever run by a Saint Vincent athlete.

Wanichko was followed by Adam Tucek (89th in 26:44 - personal best time), Josh Hooke (102nd in 26:53 - personal best time), Shane Simmons (104th in 26:57 - personal best time), Jeff Hite (113th in 27:09 - personal best time), Matt Hagg (120th in 27:14), and Ryan Barlow (122nd in 27:15).