September 24, 2011
By: Jordan Hill, sports information assistant

WESTERVILLE, Ohio - Clear skies and crisp temperatures made up for the muddy and sloppy course on Saturday, September 24, 2011, as the Bluffton University men's and women's cross country teams competed at the Otterbein Invitational hosted by Otterbein University. Centre College won the meet for both the women and men while the Bluffton women tied for 8th place out of 14 teams and the Bluffton men finished 11th out of 13 teams.

Leading the score for the Bluffton women was sophomore BRANDI DOMINIQUE (Wauseon) with a personal best time of 25:17.4. Rounding out the women was senior HEATHER SMITH(Elkhart, IN/Concord) with a personal-record time of 26:10.6, junior ALISON JANZEN(Whitewater, KS/Remington) with a personal-record time of 26:58.5, sophomore LYNDSEY DARROW (Pioneer/North Central) with a season-best time of 27:05 and junior KATY HEFFNER (Troy) with a season-best time of 28:00.1. Also finishing for the Beavers was sophomore ASHLEY HILLER (New Philadelphia/Tuscarawas Valley) with a season-best time of 34:38.1.

Leading the men's score was senior ANDY CHAFFEE (Clarkston, MI/Clarkston) with a season-best time of 28:59. He was followed by the trio of first-year cross country runners, freshman RYAN SCHADEWALD (Lima/Bath) with a personal-record time of 29:13.2, junior CHRIS ARNOLD (Fort Wayne, IN/Canterbury) with a personal-record time of 32:40, and freshman MIKE GRAY (Ulysses, PA/Northern Potter) with a personal-record time of 34:51.5. Rounding out the men's score was junior JEREMY KIDDER (New Carlisle) with a season-best time of 37:33.1.

Reflecting on the meet, first year Head Coach Brandt stated, "This is why I love this sport and what I do. We just came off a hard, ten-day training cycle and were able to produce several season bests and personal records! On the women's side, only two girls from the number one ranked team in the HCAC (Manchester) finished ahead of Brandi and the other five were just as impressive. The men proved they can handle hard work and a tough field of competition. I am proud of what these six women and five men did today and I know I am not the only one noticing their improvements and accomplishments."

The Beavers are back in action in six days when they travel to Cedarville on Saturday, Sept. 30 to compete in the All-Ohio Championships hosted by Cedarville University at 2 p.m.

-BEAVERS-