The season began at the Shawnee State University Invitational as the Cougars took third place out of six teams and the Lady Cougars finished fourth out of six teams. Two weeks later, the men’s team finished 10th out of 19 teams at the Cedarville University Invitational, while the women’s team was 16th out of 19 teams.

The following week, the Cougars posted an 11th-place finish out of 16 teams at the Otterbein College Invitational, while the Lady Cougars were 15th out of 16 teams.

After a week off, both teams competed at the All-Ohio Meet hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University. The men’s team finished 29th out of 39 teams, while the women’s team was 42nd out of 44 teams at the state’s largest race in which every college and university was invited regardless of size.

The next week, the Cougars finished 12th out of 20 teams at the Wilmington College Invitational, while the Lady Cougars placed 19th out of 22 teams. Then, the teams closed out the regular-season at the Southeastern Classic in Nashville, Tennessee, where the men’s team finished 11th out of 22 teams and the women’s team was 21st out of 22 teams.

At this point, the teams switched their focus to the postseason with two big races left on the schedule. At the American Mideast Conference/NAIA Region IX Meet hosted by Walsh University, the Cougars put together its best showing of the season with a sixth-place finish out of 12 teams, while the Lady Cougars had five runners post personal bests as the team finished 10th out of 12 teams.

Then, the teams closed out their seasons at the National Christian College Athletic Association National Meet hosted by Cedarville. The men’s team finished 10th out of 22 teams, while the women’s team was 21st out of 24 teams.

“When a season comes to an end, one of my favorite things to do is to look back and see the improvements each individual made throughout the year,” said MVNU head coach Chip Wilson. “I have had the privilege of watching these runners compete and work hard every day, and to see how far they have come is a blessing. Our second race of the season was held at Cedarville, and two months later, we finished on that same course. Comparing the two races for all of my runners, it was amazing to see the drastic decrease in times. This just proves how hard they worked. It has been a fun year.”

On the men’s team, sophomore Mark Porostosky led the Cougars in every race with his best time coming at Wilmington when he broke his own school record with a time of 26:11.5 in the eight-kilometer race. He also just missed out on qualifying for the NAIA National Meet when he finished 17th at the AMC/NAIA Region IX Meet and became the first runner in school history to earn AMC Honorable Mention status.

Senior Tim Grubb showed continuous improvement throughout the year and lowered his personal best time to 29:13.5 in the final race. Freshmen Chaz Rice (27:27.6), Zach Stiverson (28:14.4), and David Clark (30:01.6) contributed in their first season, while sophomores Zach Tuggle (28:37.0) and Dustin Wine (29:19.3) rounded out a very competitive group.

“Coming into the season, I knew that our men’s team had the potential to make great strides in the AMC,” said Wilson. “We had a very young team with a few new faces on the roster who I felt like if they worked hard and pushed each other would succeed. Even though we had a great team camp and a great few weeks to start the season, we had to battle through injuries from the beginning. I still had confidence in these runners that if we could get everyone healthy that we could still have a successful season.”

“I think the turning point for these guys came at Wilmington in mid-October,” Wilson continued. “We had a great week of practice and I challenged the team before the race. Every runner answered the challenge, and I could see the confidence building at that point. We finished the season in the top half of our conference with Mark claiming All-Conference honors. I am so proud of Tim, Zach Tuggle, Mark, Dustin, David, Zach Stiverson, and Chaz. They are a very close group of guys who worked hard all season and earned their success. We will definitely miss Time and his leadership next year, but with the rest of the team returning I like the direction that we are heading.”

On the women’s side, junior Mallorey Newland (21:44.6) and sophomore Tessa Swartzentruber (21:52.4) led the Lady Cougars. Seniors Liz Keffer (22:43.9), Katie Tracy (23:05.5), Bethany Haught (26:11.7), and Kayla Parlin (28:16.5) along with sophomores Brittany Click (28:20.4) and Liz Bayless (30:02.8) all showed significant improvement throughout the season.

“I was not sure what to expect after losing all but one of our girls from last year’s team,” said Wilson. “I knew that it was going to be tough to replace six seniors, but I was confident that with Mallorey returning that she was ready to lead a completely new group of girls. There were seven new faces added to this year’s team, but it did not take them long to mesh together and begin encouraging one another. These girls really came together at camp and they kept this bond throughout the year. When practices and races became tough, I could always count on one of the girls to step up and encourage everyone through the hard times.”

“This is a very unique group,” Wilson continued. “I think that for them the turning point came at the Southeastern Classic. Even though we did not see any personal bests that day, they ran extremely well on a tough course against some great competition. This race led into our AMC race where almost all of our girls ran a personal best time. I believe the confidence gained in Nashville led to this performance at the AMC race. I am very proud of Katie, Bethany, Liz Keffer, Kayla, Mallorey, Tessa, Brittany, and Liz Bayless. Once again we will replace four seniors, but we hope to gain some depth for the near future.”

“Our second season has been a success,” Wilson concluded. “This was a great year with many experiences to build on for the future. I look forward to where both the men’s and women’s teams are headed.”