By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant

DELAWARE, Ohio- On Friday, Sept. 30, the Beavers were up at the line to start their races at Ohio Wesleyan University for the OWU Invitational! The weather conditions were ideal, and the course was ready for some great competition!

At 6 p.m., 201 men left the starting line to kick off the their 8k competition. Crossing the finish line first for the Beavers was senior Karter Tow (Van Wert/Lincolnview), flying across the finish in 21st place overall with a time of 26:19! Coming in second for the Beavers with a time of 27:53 was junior Cole Kropka (New London)! Following Kropka was Alex Montross (Perrysburg), finishing in third place for the Beavers with a time of 28:25. Sophomore Jarrod Roudebush (Coshocton) raced a season-best time of 29:08. Following Roudebush was freshman Grant Beasley (Versailles), setting a new 8k PR with a time of 29:53. Also setting a new PR was junior Aiden Brien (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) with a time of 31:42, along with freshman Micah Dodson (Wooster/Central Christian) with a time of 32:44!

The women's 6k Race started at 6:45 p.m. Leading the Beavers with a quick time of 25:11 was junior Basil Gates (Galion), finishing in 65th place overall. Crossing the line second for the Beavers was senior Jenia Freewalt (Delphos/St. John's), running her second-fastest 6k race ever with a time of 26:15! Following closely behind Freewalt was freshman McKenna Mabry (Ventura, Cal./Buena), finishing a great race with a time of 26:35! Finishing in fourth for the Beavers was junior Sammie Unger (Kenton), finishing a stellar race with a season-best time of 26:54.

"We had a solid meet overall," said Head Coach Connor Gulick. "We saw the back group slowly close the gap toward the front of the team. After a tough week of training, to still see so many people shave off time is exciting as we get closer to peaking!"

This coming week is the last week of the regular season training before the team begins to taper for the end of the season. The Beavers will stand at the line next on Friday, Oct. 13 at the Jenna Strong Invite in Wilmington!

-BEAVERS-