Aviano's Ginny Belt ran the DODDS-Europe cross country season opener near Vicenza, Italy in a time of 23 minutes and 40 seconds Saturday. (Jason Duhr/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano's Ginny Belt ran the DODDS-Europe cross country season opener near Vicenza, Italy in a time of 23 minutes and 40 seconds Saturday. (Jason Duhr/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza's Gabby Young was the first to cross the finish line for the Cougars on Saturday during a DODDS-Europe cross country season opener near Vicenza, Italy. Gabby took eleventh place overall with a time of 22 minutes and 3 seconds. (Jason Duhr/Stars and Stripes)
Naple's Shiloh Houseworth ran a 21-minute-and-34-second race Saturday during a DODDS-Europe cross country season opener near Vicenza, Italy. (Jason Duhr/Stars and Stripes)
Stuttgart's Nina Gante ran a 20-minute-and-15-second race Saturday during a DODDS-Europe cross country season opener near Vicenza, Italy. (Jason Duhr/Stars and Stripes)
Vilseck's Kaili Markley is the first runner to cross the finish line Saturday during a DODDS-Europe cross country season opener near Vicenza, Italy. Markley ran the route in 19 minutes and 38 seconds. (Jason Duhr/Stars and Stripes)
Aviano's Austin Groves competes during a DODDS-Europe cross country season opener Saturday at a route near Vicenza, Italy. Groves finished the race in a time of 19 minutes and 32 seconds. (Jason Duhr/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza's Josh Wilson pushes himself to the finish line with a time of 17 minutes and 54 seconds Saturday during a DODDS-Europe cross country season opener near Vicenza, Italy. (Jason Duhr/Stars and Stripes)
Naples' Rohan Merrill ran a 17 minute-and-19 second-race Saturday during a DODDS-Europe cross country season opener near Vicenza, Italy. Merrill crossed the finish line one second ahead of Stuttgart's Ian Vrooman. (Jason Duhr/Stars and Stripes)
Vilseck's Diego Martinez took fourth place Saturday with a time of 17 minutes and 19 seconds during a DODDS-Europe cross country meet near Vicenza, Italy. (Jason Duhr/Stars and Stripes)
Stuttgart's Hunter Ficenec is the first runner to cross the finish line Saturday during a DODDS-Europe cross country season opener near Vicenza, Italy. Ficenec ran the route in 15 minutes and 58 seconds. (Jason Duhr/Stars and Stripes)
Cross country teams from Aviano, Naples, Stuttgart, Vicenza and Vilseck gathered at a track Saturday near Vicenza, Italy for a DODDS-Europe season opener. (Jason Duhr/Stars and Stripes)
ARCUGNANO VI, Italy – The Stuttgart Panthers proved to be the clear leaders of the pack Saturday as they topped four other schools during an unusual DODDS-Europe cross country season opener.
The Panthers secured seven of the top ten spots in both boys and girls races against Vilseck, Naples, Vicenza and Aviano.
“I was pleased with the way the kids ran,” head coach Philip Bailey said. “They ran on a flat course and we normally run on hills, allowing some of the kids to cut their time by two minutes.”
Bailey drew a wildcard this year with the arrival of Kadena transfer Hunter Ficenec.
Ficenec, last year’s Okinawa district champion, posted the best time in Europe on the first day of competition: 15 minutes and 58 seconds - 30 seconds ahead of his nearest teammate and competitor in the race, James Fullwood.
“Usually my first three races are kind of slow, but I improve by a minute after that,” Ficenec said. “This was a really good course.”
Even with the top time, Ficenec was slightly disappointed. But not by his own abilities.
“I feel like I had more competition in the Pacific,” Ficenec said. “I thought there would be faster runners here.”
Vilseck’s Kaili Markley crossed the finish line in 19:38 to capture the girls race. “She put in a lot of base mileage over the summer,” Vilseck coach Kevin Anglim said. “She had a poor Europeans last year, but I think she’s ready to bounce back.”
The Falcons landed a second top ten finisher with Meagan Weaver as she crossed the finish in 21:39, placing her in seventh and an additional two with the boys, Diego Martinez and Ayden Huezo, who grabbed fourth and sixth, respectively.
Naples managed to wrangle in a top ten finisher in both races.
“It’s a different world being in Division I; we’ve always been in the middle and we try to work our way up,” Naples coach Chip Noonan said. “But I was very happy with Rohan and Shilo.”
Rohan Merrill took 10th as he rolled through the finish with 17:48 and Shilo Houseworth pawed her way to 21:34, securing fifth place.
The meet was the first of its kind in recent memory, with two schools from Germany traveling south of the Alps to vie with some Italy based competition during the regular season.
“We never get to see Italian schools until we get to Europeans,” Anglim said. “So it’s a great preview.”
