Cougars Make Good First Impression at MCC Championship


	Lady Cougar Cross Country Recaps Cougars Make Good First Impression at MCC Championship written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Men's Race Results \| Women's Race Results GOSHEN, Ind. (11-5-2011) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Mid-Central College Conference Championship for the first time on Saturday and made a good first impression with the Lady Cougars finishing seventh out of nine teams and the Cougars coming in ninth out of 10 teams in the event hosted by Goshen (Ind.) College. NAIA No. 17 Indiana Wesleyan University captured the team title in the women's race with 43 points to edge out Spring Arbor (Mich.) University (59 points), Huntington (Ind.) University (74 points), and No. 24 Taylor (Ind.) University (80 points). MVNU was seventh out of nine teams with 187 points. Spring Arbor's Carissa Hudson claimed the individual title as she covered the five-kilometer course in 18:13 to beat out Huntington's Gretchen Spahr (18:30) by 17 seconds. Freshman Lincoln Green *(left)* led the Lady Cougars by coming in 21st with a season-best time of 19:33. Sophomore Ashley Mast (20:26), sophomore Lindsey Minor (20:36), freshman Becca Haught (21:16), junior Brittany Richter (21:29), sophomore Alex Reasoner (21:42), junior Melissa Keiser (22:47), senior Caitlin Edwards (24:17), sophomore Katie Worthington (25:15), sophomore Kathleen Finley (25:45), and freshman Sarah Mast (25:54) rounded out the lineup for MVNU. "We were not far away from the top half in the conference on the women's side today," said MVNU coach Chip Wilson. "All of the girls ran strong and many of them had season best or personal best times at the end of the race. I was very thrilled to have Caitlin back running after only two weeks removed from her appendectomy. She finished the race and just having her with us helped lift our spirits. Lincoln led the team again today with a solid race, and she was followed closely by Ashley and Lindsey. It was great to see smiles on the faces of these girls after the race, especially at our first MCC run." In the men's race, Huntington won the team title with 51 points to narrowly edge Goshen (55 points) and Spring Arbor (76 points). The Cougars finished ninth out of 10 teams with 240 points. Huntington's Joseph Herber won the individual title on the men's side as he finished the eight-kilometer course in 24:55 to beat Spring Arbor's Kyle Anderson (25:01) by six seconds. Senior Nate Winters *(right)* led MVNU by finishing 32nd overall with a season-best time of 26:55. Sophomore Jace Wolford (28:03), senior Kevin Poast (28:08), senior Chad Lawver (28:53), freshman C.J. Larue (30:19), junior Mark Rednour (30:46), junior Jacob Pessia (30:50), junior Anthony Lee (32:01), sophomore Mitch McKenzie (33:20), and freshman Chris Rednour (34:05) rounded out the finishers for the Cougars. "Working toward this race all season has had many challenges on the men's team, but hard work paid off today for many of the runners as we saw many have their best race," said Wilson. "Our senior leaders, Nate, Kevin, and Chad, all got out hard today and finished strong. I was very happy for all three of these guys in their final conference race to run so well and give our team the boost we needed. It is great to see seniors stepping up in big races like this one today." "First impressions are always crucial to how you are viewed by others and today we knew we needed to make a great first impression in our new conference," Wilson continued. "Even though we didn't place high as a team, I saw us run a very competitive race that we ran well in and our final times are reflective of that. Running in the MCC has been a great experience for us as our entry has been well received by the coaches and other competing runners. As a team, we have felt very welcomed by everyone, and it seems to be a great fit for us." MVNU will close out the season next Saturday at the National Christian College Athletic Association National Championship at Cedarville University. The women's race will start at 10 a.m. followed by the men's race at 11 a.m.

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