In the men’s race, host NAIA No. 7 Aquinas won the 21-team event with 57 points to just nip NAIA No. 6 Shawnee State University (58 points). Cedarville University, who received votes in the latest poll, was third with 121 points, while NAIA No. 9 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) University (124 points), Siena Heights (Mich.) University (169 points), and NAIA No. 13 Cornerstone (Mich.) University (184 points) rounded out the top six. MVNU finished with 494 points in 18th place.

Zach Ripley of Cornerstone won the individual title as he covered the eight-kilometer course in 25:07.0 to finish over 12 seconds ahead of runner-up Nathan Martin of Spring Arbor (Mich.) University (25:19.2). Senior Mark Porostosky was the top finisher for the Cougars as he finished 40th overall in a time of 26:42.6. Sophomore Nate Winters (27:32.0, 72nd), senior Kenny Alexander (29:14.4, 120th) (left), freshman Anthony Lee (30:11.6, 129th), sophomore Jameson Seymour (30:31.2, 133rd), senior Dustin Wine (30:51.4, 135th), and junior David Clark (31:48.2, 141st) rounded out the scoring for MVNU, while freshman Mark Rednour (32:10.2) and freshman Jacob Pessia (34:15.8) also took part in the race.

“The men’s team did not have their best race as a team, but we were able to take away many positives from this race,” said coach Chip Wilson. “All of these guys worked hard and did their best, but it will be important to stay mentally tough in these last few weeks of the season. Our captains, Mark and Dustin, have done a great job of leading this team throughout the entire year, and it is important that this continues. I still do not think these runners have reached their peak performance yet, and these next two weeks of training will be crucial to running a great conference race. We are capable of running a great race as a team.”

In the women’s race, NAIA No. 8 Cedarville won the 21-team event for the second straight year with 59 points to edge out NAIA No. 17 Spring Arbor (76 points) and NAIA No. 10 Indiana Wesleyan University (105 points). Host Aquinas, who was ranked No. 13 in the NAIA was fourth with 107 points, while NAIA No. 21 Saint Xavier (Ill.) University rounded out the top five with 165 points. MVNU finished 539 points in 19th place.

Cedarville’s Katie Gillespie won the individual title as she covered the five kilometer course in 17:41.8 to finish just over 11 seconds ahead of teammate and runner-up, Lydia Wong, who posted a time of 17:52.9. Freshman Jessica Brant led the Lady Cougars by coming in 84th overall in a time of 20:41.7, while sophomore Caitlin Campbell set a new personal best with a time of 21:11.28 as she finished 104th. Freshman Hannah Fertig (21:22.5, 111th), senior Tara Patrick (21:30.2 (112th), freshman Melissa Keiser (22:23.5, 128th), sophomore Nikki Yates (23:11.5, 135th), and freshman Bethany Parks (23:27.8, 136th) rounded out the scoring for MVNU, while sophomore DeAnna Hardeman (25:29.1) and senior Brittany Click (27:27.7) also took part in the race with Parks and Click both joining Campbell with new personal best times.

“The girls’ team has been battling some injuries, but they were focused on the race today,” said Wilson. “When the race was complete, we did have a few personal best runs from Caitlin, Bethany, and Brittany. All the girls ran strong and confident and I am excited to see what they will do at conference in a few weeks. It was also good to see Jessica back on the course after a few weeks off. With a healthy team, I think these girls can perform well together.”

“With just a few weeks remaining until our conference race, we knew that this was our last chance to make improvements,” Wilson said. “This was some of the best competition we saw the entire year, but we were prepared and competed to the best of our abilities. The weather was again very wet and cold, but by this point in the year we are used to it. Our team places were not great, but the quality of the competition was high and we did run hard and competed well. Overall, we had a great trip and this experience will be a great step for the conference race in November.”

Both MVNU teams will now turn their focus to the American Mideast Conference Meet that will be hosted by Cedarville University on November 7 with the men’s race starting at 10:00 a.m. and the women’s race to follow at 11:00 a.m.