By: Aaron Mass, sports information assistant
November 4, 2008

NORTH MANCHESTER, Indiana - The Bluffton University cross country teams competed against the other eight Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference squads when the Beavers ran at the HCAC Championships on the campus of Manchester College on Saturday, November 1, 2008.

The top performance on the men's side for the Beavers was freshman ANDREW CHAFFEE(Clarkston, Michigan/Clarkston H.S.) who placed 45th with a time of 29:03.9. Exactly forty-four seconds later, senior JUSTIN DERRINGER (Brookville/Brookville H.S.) took 57th with a time of 29:47.9. The third Bluffton Beaver male to place was junior BEN SIEBERT (Celina/Celina H.S.) with a time of 31:20.7. That time ranked Ben at 77th overall. The fourth and final Bluffton runner to place in the HCAC Championships was sophomore BRIAN TIMPE (Wauseon/Pike-Delta-York). He finished in 83rd place with a time of 32:26.6.

For the Beaver women, freshman HEATHER SMITH (Elkhart, Indiana/Concord H.S.) was the first runner to cross the finish line. She placed 47th with a time of 27:26.8. Veteran Bluffton runner SARAH BINKLEY (Bluffton/Cory-Rawson H.S.) was just over 20 seconds behind Smith, finishing in 27:46.0. This time placed her 49th. Senior DEB DAVIS (Seneca, Penn./Christian Life Academy) placed 69th with a time of 30:12.6, while two freshman, RACHEL HUELSMAN(Celina/Coldwater) and RACHEL GIOVARELLI (Wauseon/Pettisville), finished with times of 31:13.0 and 32:37.0, placing them 72nd and 73rd, respectively.

The Beavers return to action on Saturday, November 15th when Bluffton travels to the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on the campus of Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio. The final meet of the season is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.