Lady Muskie Cross Country Team Captures Second Place

Ashley Foster
Staff Writer

     The Muskie Cross Country teams traveled Oct. 18 to the Wilmington Fall for their final meet before the OAC Championships.

     The Lady Muskies captured second behind No. 1 Cedarville University, the defending NAIA champions. Junior Cara Thompson covered the 6k-course in 23:59, claiming seventh place.

     Freshmen Jessica Sauder and Amy Oehlers placed ninth and 15th respectively, in times of 24:22 and 24:50

      "Since it was only our second meet running 6k, I was impressed with our team's endurance and our second place finish," Oehlers said.

     Sophomore Cristal Annabell captured 32nd in 25:44 and freshman Ashley Thompson finished 45th in 26:18.

      "The women attacked the 6k distance," Head Coach Keith Whitman said. "I expected improvement from the Marietta meet, but it was even bigger than I thought it would be.

     The men claimed 10th of the 17 competing teams. Junior Dustin Whitehair led the Muskies with a 13th place finish in a time of 26:32 over the 8k-course.

     Sophomores Mike Skaggs and David Roepcke finished 51st and 54th respectively, in times of 28:12 and 28:17.

     "Our team stepped up with a lot of personal records to get ready for the OACs this week," Skaggs said. "Our top five also stepped up to close the gap from our first to five spots, and that will be important in this week's OAC championships."

     Senior Aaron Caunter finished in 79th with a time of 29:02. Freshman Sean Thomas earned 94th in 29:33.

      "The men had four or five lifetime bests or close to it," Whitman said. "They have reacted positively to two of the top five team members no longer running this season."

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