The Bearcats opened the spring season with a strong showing, taking fourth place in the small college division at the Western Pennsylvania Championships, hosted by California University (PA).

SVC was particularly strong in the distance events.  In the 5000 meter run, senior Adam Smith took first in a field of 19 runners from all three NCAA classifications, finishing with a time of 15:08.  Teammate Ryan Barlow finished closely behind Smith, with a second-place time of 15:57, while Matt Hagg took seventh (16:46) and Mike Hannon 11th (16:50).

In the 800 meter run, the brother tandem of Craig and Shane Anderton took third and fourth place, respectively, with times of 1:58.00 and 1:58.32.  Tommy McLaughlin finished 17th, with a time of 2:05.59, and Mike Stevens 18th (2:05.90).

Kevin Wanichko posted a team-best time of 4:08.57 in the 1,500 meter, good for fifth place, while teammate Jim Vargo finished in 13th in the event with a time of 4:16.68.

Nick Higgins' time of 35:09 was good for ninth place in the 10K run, while the team of Craig and Shane Anderton, McLaughlin, and Wanichko finished fifth in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:29.94.

Shane Sweeney led the Bearcats in sprint events, finishing 16th in the 400 meter (54.20 seconds) and 19th in the 200 meter (24.97), while Corey McGuire turned in a team-best 32nd place time of 12.33 seconds in the 100 meter dash.

The Bearcats finished with a team score of 78 in the small-college division, which was won by Grove City College and its score of 189.

The Bearcats earned a sixth-place finish against a tough field at the Washington & Jefferson College Invitational.

The SVC 4x400 meter relay squad of Craig Anderton, Shane Sweeney, Kevin Wanichko, and Shane Anderson turned in the Bearcats' top performance of the day, taking first place, out of 13 teams, with a time of 3:26.25, nearly three seconds ahead of second-place finisher W&J.

SVC also turned in an exceptional performance as a team in the 5,000 meter run, with four runners finishing in the top 12.  Adam Smith led the way, taking second with a time of 15:48.32, while teammate Ryan Barlow finished third in 16:08.91.  Mike Hannon's time of 16:37.82 was good for ninth, while Josh Hooke took 12th in 16:43.40.

In the 800 meter run, the Bearcats had three runners place in the top 10 and five in the top 25.  Shane Anderton led the group, taking second overall with a time of 1:56.52, while Craig Anderton finished just .40 seconds behind for third place.  Adam Tusek's time of 2:02.17 was good for seventh, while Mike Stevens finished 18th (2:06.54) and Tommy McLaughlin 23rd (2:08.18).

Kevin Wanichko's time of 4:04.84 in the 1,500 meter, a personal best, was good for second in a field of 35, while Smith took fourth (4:08.77) and Jim Vargo 12th (4:17.58).

Sweeney led the charge for SVC in the 200 meter, finishing in 16th place with a school-record time of 24.02 seconds, while Corey McGuire took 22nd (24.59, personal best) and Kevin Lehman was 26th in 25.12, also a personal best.

In the 100, McGuire (12.11) and Lehman (12.22) set personal bests.

Penn State-Behrend finished first as a team, with a cumulative score of 128.50, and was followed by Carnegie Mellon (117), W&J (106.5), Wheeling Jesuit (100), Denison (58), and SVC (53).  A total of 13 colleges participated.

The Bearcats faced their strongest competition of the year, participating in the two-day Bucknell University Bison Outdoor Classic.

Nearly 40 colleges - with the majority being NCAA Division-I schools- participated in the event, held at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA.

As has been the case throughout the year, the Bearcats were led by yet another stellar performance from senior Adam Smith, who took second place overall, out of 95 runners, in the 5,000 meter race, finishing with a time of 14:52.25.  Smith's teammate, Ryan Barlow, also turned in a strong showing in the 5K, finishing with a time of 15:44.36.

In the 800 meter run, SVC's Shane Anderton finished 27th, in a field of 90 runners, with a time of 1:56.51.  Teammate Craig Anderton followed closely behind, taking 40th place with a time of 1:58.17.

Kevin Wanichko's time of 4:13.08 led the Bearcats in the 1,500 meter run, finishing 47th in a field of 65.

Brothers Craig and Shane Anderton both broke the existing school record in the 400 during the PAC North Quad Meet, held at Westminster College.

Craig Anderton finished first in the event, timed in 50.69, while his twin brother Shane took second in 51.25. 

The Andertons also ran the first two legs on the 4x400 team, which took first place in 3:26.02.  Kevin Wanichko and Shane Sweeney completed the team.

In other action, Josh Hooke finished second in the 3000 meters, timed in 9:40.23, just ahead of Ed Moss, who was third in 9:40.49.   Adam Tucek was a second place finisher in the 800 (1:59.52), while Wanichko finished fourth in 2:01.35.

Jim Vargo finished fourth in the 1500 with a time of 4:21.34, while teammate Tomas McLaughlin was fifth (4:24.87).  Corey McGuire finished fifth in the 100, timed in 12.10, while his time of 24.44 in the 200 was good for third.

The Bearcats saw a number of runners record personal best times at the Ed Fry Invitational hosted by Indiana University (PA).

Kevin Wanichko turned in the team's best performance of the day, as he took first place in the 1,500 meter with a personal-best time of 4:02.20.  Teammate Jim Vargo took eighth place in the event, turning in a time of 4:20.26, while Mike Stevens finished 16th in 4:27.54.

In the 5-kilometer run, SVC saw a trio of runners place in the top 10 and seven finish in the top 20, led by Ryan Barlow's second place time of 16:02.41. Matt Hagg finished fifth (16:53.25), Josh Hooke ninth (17:06.15), Mike Hannon 11th (17:15.25), Ed Moss 13th (17:43.83), and Aaron Seckar 16th (18:46.85).

The brother tandem of Shane and Craig Anderton continued its steallar season in the 800 meter run, with Shane finishing third with a personal-best time of 1:54.08 and Craig fourth in 1:54.51.  With these times, both runners qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference championships in mid-May.  Adam Tucek turned in a personal-best time of 2:00.08, finishing in 10th place in the event, while Stevens took 23rd in 2:07.13 and Vargo 24th in 2:08.18.

The 4x400 relay squad of Craig Anderton, Shane Sweeney, Wanichko, and Shane Anderton also qualified for the ECAC's, as they turned in a time of 3:25.04, good for second place.

Sprinter Cory McGuire set a personal-best with a time of 11.99 in the 100 meters, good for 13th place.  In the 200, Sweeney led the way with a 14th place time of 24.11 seconds, while McGuire finished 23rd in 24.57.

As a team, the Bearcats turned in an cumulative score of 42 points, finishing in eighth place.  IUP won the event, racking up 112 points.

Over two different locales, the Bearcats posted a successful weekend.

The Bearcats had runners compete at both the 2009 Presidents' Athletic Conference Championships, as well as the presigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia, PA.

At the PAC Championships, the Bearcat distance runners turned in an impressive performance.

SVC's strongest event of the day was the 5K run, as Adam Smith continued his dominating season by turning in a first-place finish with a time of 15:57.14.  Teammate Ryan Barlow finished second, with a time of 16:28.47, while Josh Hooke gave the Bearcats three finishers in the top five, as he took fifth place.

Smith also took part in the 1,500 meter run, finishing second by just .40 seconds, while teammate Jim Vargo finished fifth and Tommy McLaughlin sixth.

Mike Hannon finished fourth in the 10K (36:04.42), while McLaughlin finished seventh in the 800 and Cory McGuire 10th in the 200.

In the Penn Relays, the SVC 4x800 relay squad of Craig Anderton, Shane Anderton, Kevin Wanichko, and Adam Tucek set a school record, posting a time of 7:52.58, good for 14th in a field of primarily NCAA Division-I opponents.

The Bearcats posted a strong performance at the 2009 Allegheny College Gator Invitational, highlighted by a record-shattering performance from freshman Kevin Wanichko.

Wanichko shattered the SVC record in the 1,500 meter run, posting a time of 3:59.63, good for 11th in a deep field.  This personal best time was also good enough for Wanichko to qualify for the upcoming Eastern College Athletic Conference championships.

In the 800 meter run, Craig Anderton led the way with a fourth-place time of 1:54.07, his best time of the season and another ECAC-qualifying time.  Craig's brother Shane finished just .35 seconds behind, taking fifth place and also qualifying for the ECAC's.  Adam Tucek was a third Bearcat finisher in the 800, taking 22nd place with a time of 2:01.79.

Adam Smith led the Bearcats in the 5K, finishing fifth overall with an ECAC-qualifying time of 15:06.97.

Sprinter Shane Sweeney rounded out the Bearcat competitors on the day, taking 16th in the 200m with a time of 24.67.

The Bearcats will now wrap up the 2009 spring campaign on Friday at the ECAC Championships at Springfield College (MA).  Craig and Shane Anderton will compete in the 800, Wanichko the 1500, and Smith the 5K, while Wanichko, Sweeney, and Craig and Shane Anderton will team up in the 4x400 meter relay.

Full results from Allegheny can be found at http://www3.allegheny.edu/athletics/mentrack/0809/Results.htm

The Bearcat men set three school records and earned three medals en route to a 17th place finish among 93 teams at the ECAC Championships in Massachusetts.

Shane Anderton and Kevin Wanichko each went into the record books twice for the day, as well as earning one medal each.  Anderton finished third in the 800 to earn his medal, timed in a school-best 1:52.71.  Wanichko entered the books with a 3:56.14 effort in the 1500, finishing fifth and earning a medal.

The team of Craig Anderton, Shane Sweeney, Wanichko and Shane Anderton set a school record in the 1600 relay, timed in 3:21.58.

The team's other medalist on the day was Adam Smith, who finished second in the 5000, with a time of 15:12.56.

Full results:
800 meters (16 competitors)
Shane Anderton 3rd in 1:52.71 – School record, Personal best, Season best
Craig Anderton 15th in 1:57.97

1500 meters (17 competitors)
Kevin Wanichko 5th in 3:56.14 – School record, Personal best, Season best

5000 meters (7 competitors)
Adam Smith 2nd in 15:12.56

1600 relay (30 teams):
Craig Anderton, Shane Sweeney, Kevin Wanichko, Shane Anderton 16th in 3:21.58 – School record, Season best