In the men’s eight-kilometer race, the Cougars finished third out of seven teams. The host Bears of Shawnee State, who were ranked No. 14 in the NAIA preseason poll, won the event with 17 points, Berea (Ky.) College was second with 62 points, and MVNU was right behind in third place with 72 points.

Keagan Rathkamp of Shawnee State won the men’s race as he covered the course in 25:47 to easily out-distance the next closest runner, teammate Michael Owen, by 57 seconds. Junior Mark Porostosky (left) was the top finisher for the Cougars as he came in 10th out of 73 runners in 27:20. Freshman Nate Winters had a strong showing in his first collegiate race as he finished 13th in 27:59, while freshman Blake Heinlen also finished well coming in 18th in 28:59. Sophomore Zach Stiverson (30:27, 28th), sophomore David Clark (31:14, 34th), freshman Jameson Seymour (31:56, 37th), and junior Dustin Wine (35:20, 53rd) rounded out the times for MVNU.

“Mark has consistently been our team leader and he ran another good race today,” said MVNU coach Chip Wilson. “He had a strong finish last season, and this race has put him in a great place to start a new year. Our other returning runners, Zach, David, and Dustin, had many bright spots during today’s race. They all looked strong throughout the race, and they are continuing to work hard to improve on their times. Our freshmen runners, Nate, Blake, and Jameson, started out their collegiate running careers with a good showing. I was pleased with their finishing times, and they now have a better understanding of the 8K race compared to the 5K.”

In the women’s five-kilometer race, Cedarville University, ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, won the nine-team race with 20 points, while No. 22 Shawnee State was second with 41 points. Charleston (W.V.) University (116), Berea (Ky.) (126), and MVNU (139) rounded out the top five.

Lisa Davies of Shawnee State won the women’s race in 18:06 to finish 15 seconds ahead of Cedarville’s Nicole Santo (18:21). Freshman Caitlin Campbell was the top finisher for the Lady Cougars as she finished 19th out of 81 runners in 21:35 in her first collegiate race. Freshman Heidi Raidel (22:48, 27th), freshman Katelyn Felger (23:21, 32nd), freshman Lauren Ford (23:57, 40th), sophomore Ashley Morse (24:36, 48th), freshman DeAnna Hardeman (24:46, 49th), and junior Brittany Click (28:49, 66th) rounded out the lineup for MVNU.

“With only one returning female runner, I was not sure who was going to step up and lead on the course for the girls,” said Wilson. “All of them are talented and athletic enough to make a tremendous difference, and it was great to see everyone take away something positive from the race. Brittany, one of our captains, has worked so hard over the past year, and I was really impressed with the improvements she has made. Ashley, our other captain, was nervous heading into her first race, but she ran well and I know that as she gains experience that her times will quickly improve. Our freshmen all had an excellent race today, and it was great to see many smiles after the race was over. Caitlin, Heidi, Katelyn, Lauren, and DeAnna all had an impressive opening day race for us. There is great potential in this freshman class, and I am anxious to see what the future holds.”

“I am very encouraged by the effort of all our runners in this race,” said Wilson. “We ran against some good competition and competed well. Our freshmen runners were successful in their first race, and our returning runners showed great leadership on and off the course.”

“This race was simply a place to begin our season,” Wilson continued. “I told all of our runners that today we would see where we were and what we needed to work on. They ran hard, finished the race, and now we can begin to work at improving our times. Along with the effort I saw during the race, I was also pleased with the encouragement and teamwork displayed by all the individuals on our team. We have many new faces on our team this season, and I have been anxious to see how they would grow as a team.”

MVNU will be back in action on Saturday, September 20, when both teams will take part in the Cedarville University Invitational. The women’s race is slated to start at 10:00 a.m. with the men’s race to follow at 10:45 a.m.