Oct. 24, 2006

By Mark Bankert, Malone Sports Information

Two former Malone College (Ohio) distance runners, Dave Gramlich of Cuyahoga Falls (Cuyahoga Falls H.S.) and Leo Kormanik of Akron (Ellet H.S.), were among 100 invited to compete at the 2006 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon last Sunday and posted truly outstanding finishes at the meet.  Among over 48,000 runners at the event, Gramlich, who was a 10-time NAIA All-American for Malone and an NAIA Marathon national champion, finished in 38th-place overall in a time of 2:20.19 to automatically qualify for the United States Olympic Trials. 

His mark was the 24th best among American runners at the event and he finished nearly two minutes ahead of the 2:22.00 automatic qualifying mark for the Trials.  He qualified for a cash bonus for qualifying for the Trials and for finishing among the top 50 American runners.

Kormanik, a six-time NAIA All-American running in his first marathon ever, nearly pulled off an incredible qualifying feat but just missed the qualifying mark by 29 seconds, posting a time of 2:22.29 for a 63rd-place finish.

The Chicago marathon is one of the big three in the United States that also includes the Boston and New York marathons and is one of the top four in the world, which also includes the London marathon.

Malone College, a Christian college for the arts, sciences, and professions in the liberal arts tradition, awards degrees in 49 undergraduate majors and five graduate programs.  Malone is recognized by the prestigious Templeton Foundation as a leader in character development and is ranked among the top colleges and universities in the Midwest under the category Universities - Master's according to U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges 2007.  Please visit our web site at www.malone.edu.