September 29, 2017
CEDARVILLE, Ohio - In fine fall conditions, the Bluffton men's and women's cross country teams competed in the All-Ohio Championship meet at Cedarville University, the annual coming together of all the colleges and universities of all divisions across the state of Ohio on Friday, Sept. 29.
Leading the way for the women was sophomore Alexis Cash (Gaines, MI/Lake Fenton) with a PR 6,000 meter performance of 23:49. Following closely were the duo of junior Jennie Mattson (Guysville/Alexander) and freshman Kimmie Hetrick (Fremont/Ross) who in the large of field of 343 finishers came across the line only 31 seconds apart. Completing the scoring five were senior Alissa Hauke (Hillsboro), who continues to improve each week, and sophomore Arie Cox (Ontario) who put in a strong performance.
As has become expected, sophomore Dakota Frost (Edgerton/Hicksville) was the first finisher for the men's team in the field of 323 harriers. His year of maturity and work was evident in an improved time from last year's outing. Junior Jonah Eckert (Terre Haute, Ind./West Vigo) rose to the occasion to reclaim his more accustomed second position. Junior Wyatt Baer (Marshallville, Ohio/Smithville) continues to impress as he nailed down the third place team scoring honors while juniors Jacob Hill (Dayton/Wayne) and Michael Lehman (West Liberty/West Liberty-Salem) completed the varsity scoring positions.
"We are not a program that shies away from top competition," said Head Coach Karen Brandt. "Having the opportunity to compete in this multi-divisional meet with its talent, size and ferocity gives our athletes a sheer baptism by fire heading toward the conference and regional meets at the end of the season. To hold up to this pressure is to hone not only one's physical skills but mental and emotional ones as well. Today showed us coaches a lot about what to expect over the next month of training and competition."
The Beavers enter a second block of hard training before traveling to Oberlin College on October 14 to compete in the Inter-Regional Rumble, another large-scale operation with teams from throughout the Great Lakes Region and beyond in attendance. The women's 6,000 meter varsity race starts at 10:30 a.m. followed by the men's 8,000 meter varsity race at 11:15 a.m.
-BEAVERS-