You can have your cake and eat it too
Contributed by Davidson College

Greg Marcil selects his cake after placing second in the men's division of the 68th Annual Freshman Cake Race at Davidson College.

Greg Marcil, a Davidson College freshman from Columbia, placed second in the men's division of the 68th Annual Freshman Cake Race. Marcil finished with a time of 8:43 in 1.7- mile race, ahead of about 70 of his first- year classmates.

Marcil is the son of Valerie Marcil of Robin Hood Court in Columbia, and Tom Marcil of Cayce. He is a 2007 graduate of Dreher High, where he ran cross- country and track. He was recruited to run for Davidson.

The Freshman Cake Race has been a part of first year student orientation at Davidson since 1930 when the college's track coach established the race to identify promising runners in the freshman class for recruiting. Since then, it has evolved into a spirited but light- hearted competition for about 100 cakes, which are baked and donated by members of the college and town community.

This year, the top 57 finishers in the male and female divisions all received their choice of cakes, according to the order of finish.

Greg warmed up for the race with a four- mile run with the team. After placing second, Greg chose a white frosted chocolate cake decorated with an image of the college mascot, a wildcat. It was contributed by the women's varsity lacrosse team and has been a traditional prize of cross- country runners in the race.

Marcil and other cross- country team members gathered in the locker room after the race to eat the three cakes the runners won.

"It was a fun event," Marcil said. "It was a cool way for the community to get involved on campus and for freshmen to meet each other."