Dee Salukombo placed third overall at the 2009 NCAC Men's Cross Country Championship, helping DU to a fifth place finish.

Denison sophomore Dee Salukombo (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) placed third and helped lead his Big Red squad to a fifth place finish at the 2009 North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Cross Country Championships from Liberty Park in Powell, Ohio.

Salukombo, who took a five-race winning streak into Saturday's conference championships was edged out by a pair of juniors from Allegheny College.  The Gators, who went on to win the overall title, placed their top-five runners in the top-10 in the overall standings.  The individual champion was Jeramie Parker who covered the 8L course in 25:53.0.  He was trailed by teammate Chris Marker who crossed the finish line in 25:57.6.  Salukombo was right behind in third with a time of 26:04.8.

Following Salukombo in the standings for the Big Red was sophomore Alex Chappars (Xenia, Ohio/Bellbrook) who placed 13th overall in 27:07.7.  Junior Dan Doggett (Byfield, Mass./Governor Dummer Academy) placed 25th in 27:46.7 and Jacob Ott (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) took 33rd place in 28:04.2.  Junior Russell Holden (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Western Reserve Academy) rounded out the DU scorers with a fifth place finish and a time of 28:15.6.

Placing second, behind Allegheny, was Wabash with 82 points.  Third place went to Oberlin (85) who was followed by Ohio Wesleyan (103) who nipped the Big Red by one point in the standings for fourth place.

Denison will compete in two weeks at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional in Terre Haute, Ind.

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