By Derek Stanley and Tim Stried

October 22, 2001

Nine BC runners set new personal records as the Bluffton College men's and women's cross country teams turned in one of their best performances of the season last Friday night at the 2001 Wilmington College Fall Classic. Out of 12 teams, the BC women's squad finished fifth, while the men's squad took eighth.

On the women's side, senior Ben Noll covered the 5,000 meter race in 21:27, just 11 seconds off her PR to finish 41st out of 114 runners. Junior Kristen Stager finished 52nd overall with a time of 21:51. Not far behind, senior Jen Oyer finished in 21:52 for 54th place, while senior Katie Gwirtz finished 59th in 22:01. Sophomore Rachael Szydlowski rounded out the scoring as she placed 62nd in a time of 22:15, which topped her previous PR by 30 seconds.

"The women ran one of their best races of the year," said Head Coach Derek Stanley. "They came together well and there were a lot of good times today. I am very impressed with Jen Oyer who ran through having the flu today and Kristie Wiltsie who improved 1:46 seconds! They are right where they need to be before Conference this Saturday at Anderson."

Six runners on the men's side ran personal best times, including freshman Roy Kaplan, who smashed his previous PR by 78 seconds to lead Bluffton with a time of 28:41 to finish 50th in the 8000 meter race. Freshman Andy Schiefer finished 53rd with a new PR of 28:47, and junior Steve Borga finished 57th with a time of 29:06. Freshman Mitch Stacy finished 61st in 29:16 and Chris White Chris White ran a 30:32 to finish 76th. 

"The men ran a good meet as a team today," said Stanley. "We placed well compared to how we have been placing in meets throughout the season. Six guys had PR's today which shows me that the training is working for them. I am nothing but excited about next weekend."