Oct. 10, 2008

Complete Results

DELAWARE, Ohio - The men's and women's cross country teams competed in the All-Ohio Championships, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University, in Delaware, Ohio on Friday. Both teams posted top-five finishes, with the men taking fifth out of 42 teams and the women fourth out of 41 teams.

Individually, juniors Kari Summers (Troy, Ohio) and Annie Beecham (Granville, Ohio) finished second and third, respectively. All-MAC performer Summers ran a time of 18:01.4, finishing 16 seconds behind Cincinnati's Lillian Jelimo, who also won the Ohio Invitational in Athens earlier this season. Beecham, also All-MAC last season, ran the course in 18:07.2. Junior Jenielle Hunt (Pittsburgh, Pa.) placed 26th, freshman Hannah Charbel (Vandalia, Ohio) finished 33rd, and senior Melissa Hornor (Hilliard, Ohio) came in 68th to round out the top five Bobcats.

Division II Cedarville took home the All-Ohio women's title, finishing 22 points ahead of Cincinnati. MAC rival Bowling Green edged the Bobcats by four points to place third. Head coach Clay Calkins felt good about the race but hopes to keep his team improving.

"It was a good test for us," commented Calkins. "We didn't want to finish behind Bowling Green, but we did finish ahead of Kent, which was good. Kari (Summers) and Annie (Beecham) did a fantastic job as frontrunners for us. We still just need to close the gap between second and third." In the men's race, senior Shamus Eaton (Uniontown, Ohio) finished just outside the top 10, running a time of 25:27.2 to place 12th. Junior Ridge Robinson (Navarre, Ohio) also posted a top-20 showing with a 19th place finish with a time of 26:09.1. Junior Todd Holbrook (Beavercreek, Ohio) finished 45th, sophomore Chris Davis (Reedsville, Ohio) finished 49th, and freshman Joey Cherico (Strongsville, Ohio) placed 60th to cap the Bobcats' top five runners.

Division II Malone won the men's title, followed by Cincinnati and Ohio State, while MAC foe Kent State placed fourth, ahead of Ohio. Senior Nik Schweikert of Malone ran a time of 25:18.2 to earn first-place individual honors. Coach Calkins was proud of his young team's effort today.

"A top-five finish is solid for us," said Calkins. "We knew this meet would be a challenge for us, but I think we did a good job overall. Shamus (Eaton) felt like the guys all ran a good race today. It was tough for our younger guys, but the upperclassmen ran well on a tough course."

The Bobcats head to Pre-Nationals next Saturday, Oct. 18 in Terre Haute, Ind. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.