"I was very proud of all the MVNU runners at the conference race,” said MVNU coach Chip Wilson. "I thought we represented out university well. This is the race we have been working toward all season. We knew it was going to be a tough race coming into Saturday as our conference has some of the best teams in the nation. I reminded our runners that to become better we must run against the best, and I thought we competed well. Even though we did not place as well as we had hoped, all of the MVNU runners ran hard and finished a tough race.”

In the men’s race, Malone University captured its 17th straight conference title by finishing with a mere 19 points as the Pioneers had five of the top six individual finishers. Malone edged out runner-up Shawnee State University (55 points) and third-place Cedarville (71 points), while Walsh University (162 points) and Houghton (N.Y.) College (173 points) rounded out the top five. The Cougars finished seventh with 190 points as MVNU posted its best total in AMC action in the program’s four-year history since returning after a 27-year absence.

Individually, Malone’s Aaron Melhorn won the individual title in a time of 25:17 as he beat runner-up T.J. Badertscher of Cedarville (25:31) by 14 seconds. Senior Mark Porostosky led the Cougars with a time of 27:09 as he finished 22nd out of 101 runners on the eight-kilometer course to earn AMC Honorable Mention status. Sophomore Nate Winters (27:47, 35th), freshman Anthony Lee (29:31, 58th), senior Kenny Alexander (29:57, 63rd), senior Joe Pittenger (31:01, 75th), junior David Clark (31:08, 77th), sophomore Jameson Seymour (31:16, 78th), senior Dustin Wine (32:27, 88th), freshman Mark Rednour (34:38, 95th), and freshman Jacob Pessia (35:58, 98th) rounded out the scoring for MVNU.

"I had mixed feelings in the men’s race because this was the last conference race for Mark and Dustin, who are our only two remaining runners from our original team in 2006,” said Wilson. "They have both been the backbone of this team as the entire personality of the team was developed by them. I am very thankful for what they have meant to this team as runners and people. Alongside of these guys are two other seniors who will be greatly missed. I have enjoyed watching Kenny and Joe run this season and they have been a major part of this team.”

In the women’s race, Malone (32 points) edged fourt-time defending champion Cedarville (44 points) to claim its first conference title in five years as the Lady Pioneers had five runners among the top nine in the event. Shawnee State was third with 102 points, while Houghton (121 points) and Walsh (138 points) rounded out the top five. The Lady Cougars finished 10th out of 11 teams with 260 points.

Katie Gillespie of Cedarville claimed the individual title as she covered the five-kilometer course in 18:09 to edge teammate Lydia Wong (18:12) by three seconds. Freshman Jessica Brant finished 41st out of 121 runners in a time of 21:11 to lead MVNU. Meanwhile, senior Tara Patrick (21:54, 54th), sophomore Caitlin Campbell (22:02, 60th), freshman Melissa Keiser (22:52, 83rd), sophomore Nikki Yates (23:40, 95th), freshman Bethany Parks (24:58, 106th), sophomore DeAnna Hardeman (27:06, 113th), and senior Brittany Click (28:54, 118th) rounded out the lineup for the Lady Cougars.

"The women’s team is continuing to improve and develop with small steps each year,” said Wilson. "This team has been a very coachable team that is willing to do whatever it takes to get better. Even though we have had to take some steps back this year because of injury, I am very proud of the way these girls are finishing the season. This was the last conference race for Brittany and Tara, who have been major influences on our team this year. They are both tremendous leaders who have impacted the girls around them. I am thankful for their time with us.”

The MVNU teams will close out their season on Saturday when they travel back to Cedarville for the National Christian College Athletic Association Meet. The men’s race will take place at 10:00 a.m. followed by the women’s race at 11:00 a.m.