The season began at the Shawnee State University Invitational as the Cougars took third place out of seven teams and the Lady Cougars finished fifth out of nine teams. Two weeks later, the men’s team finished ninth out of 20 teams at the Cedarville University Invitational, while the women’s team was 15th out of 18 teams.

The following week, the Cougars posted a 16th-place finish out of 21 teams at the Otterbein College Invitational with the Lady Cougars coming in 20th out of 23 teams.

After a week off, both teams competed at the All-Ohio Invitational hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University. The men’s team finished 31st out of 42 teams, while the women’s team was 38th out of 41 teams in the state’s largest race in which every college and university is invited regardless of size.

The next week, the Cougars placed 12th out of 23 teams at the Wilmington College Invitational, while the Lady Cougars came in 17th out of 24 teams. One week later, the teams both took part in the Aquinas (Mich.) College Invitational that featured many of the top programs in the country at the NAIA level. The MVNU men’s team finished 17th out of 22 teams, while the women’s team placed 19th out of 20 teams.

At this point, the focus switched to the postseason with two big team races left on the schedule. At the American Mideast Conference Meet hosted by Ursuline College, the Cougars finished seventh out of 13 teams, and the Lady Cougars came in 13th out of 14 teams.

Then, the teams closed out their season at the National Christian College Athletic Association National Meet at Cedarville University. The men’s team had program best 7th-place finish out of 18 teams, while the women’s team finished 17th out of 19 teams.

“After reflecting on this season, I am pleased with how both teams progressed as individual runners, but more importantly I am impressed with how they have grown as a team. Each year in our opening meeting, I tell my runners that I will do whatever I can as their coach to allow them to become great runners. However, I always stress the importance of the relationships made on the team above individual awards. This year’s team was exciting to be around at practices and races because they had great attitudes and personalities that meshed together well. It is exciting for me that we will have all of our runners returning next year, and I look forward to seeing how we can continue to grow as a program.”

On the men’s team, junior Mark Porostosky (left) added another chapter to his outstanding career as he became the first runner in school history to qualify for the NAIA National Championship and also be named an NCCAA All-American. Porostosky set a new school record with a time of 26:00.4 at Wilmington. He finished 14th in the AMC race to earn AMC Second Team honors and he came in eighth at the NCCAA National Meet. He finished the season by running a time of 26:15.3 at the NAIA National Championship in Kenosha, Wis.

The other runners on the men’s team all had good seasons and improved on their times as the year progressed. Freshmen Nate Winters (26:52.6), Blake Heinlen (27:55.8), and Jameson Seymour (29:41.8) made an immediate impact in their first season, while sophomores Zach Stiverson (28:08.9) and David Clark (29:10.0) and junior Dustin Wine (31:34.6) each continued to improve.

“The men’s team has seen some early success as a team and with some individuals,” said Wilson. “I knew that this team could be very competitive if we could work and learn from each other. I found out early that these seven guys wanted to succeed. They listened to everything I told them, and they pushed each other in practices and races. Because of the way these guys worked together, we were successful in every race and we had our first NCCAA All-American and our first NAIA national qualifier. This is an exciting time for this team as we are returning all of our runners next season.”

On the women’s side, the Lady Cougars had remarkable success despite only returning one runner from the previous year. Freshman Caitlin Campbell (right) came within seconds of setting a new school record with a personal best of 21:18.1 at the Wilmington race. Freshmen Katelyn Felger (21:51.6), Heidi Raidel (22:06.9), Lauren Ford (23:37.0), DeAnna Hardeman (24:44.6), and Nikki Yates (24:47.0) along with sophomore Ashley Morse (23:33.2) and junior Brittany Click (28:49.0) all contributed to the team’s success.

“Coming into the season, I was anxious to see how the women’s team would respond with only one returning runner from the previous year,” said Wilson. “I was pleasantly surprised to see the work ethic and quality of running that was being displayed. Even though we suffered through several injuries throughout the season, the girls continued to work through the aches and pains to compete well. The enthusiasm that they showed was very motivating for me, and I know that great things are ahead for this young team.”

With every runner on both teams eligible to return next season, the future is very bright for the MVNU cross country program.