SALISBURY, Md. — The Marietta College cross country teams opened their season Saturday (Sept. 4) morning at the 2010 Sea Gull Opener, hosted by Salisbury University. The Pioneer men, keyed by a pair of top 10 performances, compiled 115 points to place fifth among the 11 teams at the competition. Marietta's women posted one top 10 finish and took sixth among the 12 teams with 135 points. [Results]

"The weather gave us an uncommon early glimpse of what is to come," Head Coach Derek Stanley said. "Racing conditions were ideal for the first weekend of September. I have never seen such good weather that early in the year."

Sophomore Caleb Muller (Columbus/Bexley) anchored the men's team with a fifth place finish in the eight-kilometer race. Muller, who crossed the line in 26:18, ran the second fastest time by any Pioneer since the program's reinstatement in 2002. Only former teammate Josh Mickle (Madison/Madison) has posted a faster time in an 8K race.

Sophomore Caleb Ellis (St. Albans, W.Va./St. Albans) followed closely behind Muller and placed seventh with a time of 26:27. His performance was the fifth fastest time in since 2002 and made him the third fastest runner in the same time frame.

Senior Terrance Wallace (Westerville/Westerville Central) was the next Pioneer to cross the line. He covered the course in 27:53 and placed 36th. Sophomore Sean Hoover (Kent/Kent Roosevelt) ran a strong race and took 51st by crossing the line in 28:53. Junior Andy Guimond (Marietta/Marietta) capped the scoring by taking 58th after he ran a personal record time of 29:26.

Junior Reba Leonard (Brookville/Brookville), who missed all of last year with an injury, returned to her previous form and led the women's team with an eighth place finish on Saturday. Leonard crossed the line in 23:07, which made her the third fastest women since the reinstatement and gave her the fourth fastest time in a six-kilometer race in the same period of time.

Senior Stephanie Williams (Vincent/Warren Local) persevered through a stomach ailment to place 29th with a time of 24:10. Freshman Amy Kauffman (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle Area) made her collegiate debut and was the third Pioneer to finish. She covered the course in 24:12 and placed 33rd.

Freshman Emily Lorek (Troy/Troy), sophomore Lydia Tillmaand (Xenia/Xenia) and senior Mehgan Cline (Dublin/Coffman) ran well as a pack and finished within five spots of each other. Lorek took 54th with a time of 25:31. Tillmaand finished 56th with a time of 25:36. Cline placed 58th with a time of 25:49.

"There is work to be done in the area of pack running where our focus will continue to remain in the upcoming weeks of practice," Stanley said." We have a good level of fitness so we just need to tighten up the gaps between runners."

Marietta will return to action Saturday (Sept. 11) morning when the Pioneers host the annual Carl Broughton Invitational. The men's 8K race will begin at 10 a.m. and the women's 5K race will follow at 11 a.m.