Sports
Men And Women Sweep Ohio Invitational
By: Erick Starkey
Posted on:
The Ohio men's and women's cross-country teams both claimed the first place team rank in the Ohio Invitational in Athens on Saturday morning.
On the women's side, the Bobcats opted to sit out their top five runners. Coach Clay Calkins said that this event was a good opportunity for freshmen to prove themselves.
The 'Cats had five runners in the top six places. Leading the charge for the Ohio was sophomore Caroline Hildebrand with a time of 18:27.95 to claim the top place overall. Senior Ashley Waddington and sophomore Tessa Weigand came in second and third overall and for the team with times of 18:35.86 and 19:10.46, respectively. Rounding out the top five for the Bobcats was sophomore Maureen Dean and freshman Taylor Clyse finishing fourth and sixth with times 19:12.54 and 19:15.01, respectively.
"[The team] is trying to increase depth and we closed the gap," Calkins said.
The women finished with 16 overall team points with an average time of 18:56.37. All nine of the runners finished within the top 12 spots.
The men swept the top five places in the race. Sophomore Jake Gentile finished first overall with a time of 15:43.69. Freshman Michael McKean and sophomore Jacob Stephens finished with times of 15:57.88 and 15:58.87, respectively, finishing second and third. The Bobcats' fourth and fifth runners were sophomore Jarrod Genther and junior Chase Robinson with times of 15:59.17 and 15:59.62, respectively.
The team finished with the best possible of 15 team points with an average time of 15:55.85. The 'Cats had all 10 of their runners who competed today in the top 11 spots.
"The depth on the men's team is the best in six years," Calkins said.
The Bobcats will compete again on Sept. 20 with the men starting at 5 p.m., followed by the women at 6 p.m. The races will be held at Wake Forest in Winston Salem, N.C.