Cedarville’s men’s and women’s cross country teams both impressed in the Ohio Intercollegiate Championship Friday, Oct. 2.
Nearly 700 men toed the line on Friday afternoon, each seeking to be the fastest collegiate runner in Ohio. The women weren’t far behind, starting with almost 600 competitors. The All-Ohio Intercollegiate Championships is the state’s largest cross country race.
Cedarville’s Elvin R. King cross country course has been the site of the All-Ohio Championships since 2010.
The Yellow Jacket men finished 13th out of 47 teams and fourth in NCAA Division II. Senior Ben Tuttle led the way, finishing 13th overall and second in Division II, running the 8K course in 24:57. Tuttle ran with the leaders for nearly four miles but couldn’t quite respond when the lead pack began increasing the pace with a mile to go. Sophomore Dan Michalski ran with Tuttle for the first three miles and then fell off the fast pace, finishing 29th overall in 25:19. Junior Wyatt Hartman (26:02), junior Matt Pelletier (26:14), and sophomore Isaac Wheeler (26:34) ran most of the race together and rounded out Cedarville’s top five. Despite the windy conditions, 12 of the 13 Yellow Jacket men ran either personal records or personal records for the course.
The Lady Jackets finished seventh out of 47 teams and third in Division II. Sophomore Carsyn Koch finished 23rd overall, 3rd in Division II, covering the 6K course in 22:23. Junior Olivia Esbenshade (22:38) had a strong last mile to finish close behind Koch. Junior Hailey Bredeson (23:04) and freshman Kayla Casaletto (23:07) both ran personal records, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, for the Lady Jackets. Junior Rachel Groh (23:31) rounded out the top five for the Jackets.
The Oct. 2 meet was the final home meet of the 2015 season for both Yellow Jacket cross country teams. The men travel to Lewis University for the Lewis Conference Cross-Over Oct. 10 for the last regular season meet of the year before the G-MAC and regional championships. The Lady Jackets have a week off before their last regular season meet of the year in Evansville, Indiana, Oct. 17.
Tyler Greenwood is a junior mechanical engineering major and sports writer for Cedars.
No Replies to "Cedarville Impresses in All-Ohio Championships"