ROANOKE, Va. (Sept. 26, 2009) -- Emory & Henry senior Jeff Casassa finished fourth out of a field of 64 runners in an invitational cross country meet that include seven schools.
The E&H team finished fifth overall in the tournament, outpacing conference rival Hampden-Sydney but falling behind two other ODAC teams, Bridgewater and Roanoke.
Casassa finished the 8k meet with an impressive time of 28:46.53. The invitational was run by Jordan White of Bridgewater, who finished with a time of 27:29.39.
Emory & Henry's Keran Billaud, a sophomore, put in the second best performance for the team, finishing 23rd with a time of 30:48.17. Other E&H finishers were Martin Stiles, 52nd with a time of 35:18.83; Matthew Williams, 58th with a time of 38:03.55; Spencer Black, 59th with a time of 38:25.17; and Madison Williams, 61st, with a time of 42:24.00.
Casassa, Billaud and Stiles have consistently placed among the top three for the Wasps and have led the team as it continues to improve of last season.
Casassa finished 78th in a field of 130 at the 6,400 meter Mountaineer Open Cross Country meet Sept. 18. The crowded field included athletes from such schools as Ohio State, Appalachian State, Clemson University and UNC Wilmington. Casassa put in a time of 22:53.47, which was approximately three minutes off the leader.
Billaud finished 89th with a time of 23:31.51 while Stiles finished 121st with a time of 27::20.89.