MVNU Cross Country Teams Open Season at Ohio Wesleyan


	MVNU Cross Country Recaps MVNU Cross Country Teams Open Season at Ohio Wesleyan written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Men's Race Results \| Women's Race Results DELAWARE, Ohio (9-10-2011) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's and women's cross country teams got the 2011 season officially under way on Saturday morning at Liberty Park as they took part in the Ohio Wesleyan University Invitational. In the men's race, Ashland University easily outdistanced the field by finishing with 32 points with Albion (Mich.) College (88 points) and the University of Findlay (90 points) finishing second and third respectively. The Cougars came in 14th out of 17 teams as they finished with 425 points. Individually, Dee Salukombo of Denison University won the men's 8-kilometer race in 26:01 to finish just ahead of Ashland's Brock Weaver (26:08) and Kenneth Janosko of Baldwin-Wallace College (26:12). Senior Nate Winters was the top finisher for MVNU as he came in 37th out of 228 runners in 27:41. Sophomore Jace Wolford (28:51, 79th), senior Kevin Poast (31:16, 164th), freshman C.J. Larue (31:18, 166th), senior Chad Lawver (32:37, 195th), junior Mark Rednour (33:09, 200th), junior Jacob Pessia (34:31, 213th), and junior Anthony Lee (35:48, 222nd) rounded out the scoring for the Cougars. "Nate ran out hard today and had himself a strong race," said MVNU coach Chip Wilson. "I am looking forward to watching him lead this team throughout the year. We had a few new faces in the top five with C.J. and Chad running in their first college 8K. Both of these guys are just beginning to scratch the surface of what they are capable of doing. We are going to need all of these guys to contribute each week, and I believe they are willing to work at it." In the women's race, Oberlin College won the team title with 52 points to edge out Ashland (69 points) and third-place Albion (116 points). The Lady Cougars came in 15th out of 18 teams with 423 points. Individually, Lauren Kettle of Albion covered the 5-kilometer course in 18:48 to edge out Oberlin's Molly Martorella (18:54) and Ashland's Mandy Farson (18:55). Freshman Lincoln Green was the top finisher for MVNU as she came in 57th out of 234 runners in 20:41. Senior Caitlin Edwards (21:37, 104th), sophomore Lindsey Minor (21:49, 111th), junior Brittany Richter (22:37, 143rd), sophomore Alex Reasoner (22:45, 149th), freshman Rebecca Haught (23:10, 168th), junior Melissa Keiser (24:43, 199th), sophomore Kathleen Finley (26:04, 211th), and sophomore Katie Worthington (28:54, 230th) rounded out the scoring for MVNU. "It is great to see young runners have a solid opening race, and that is exactly what I saw from Lincoln and Lindsey today," said Wilson. "This race was the first college 5K for both of these girls, and I was pleased with the effort and leadership on the course that both showed. Likewise, it is very rewarding for me to watch our veteran runners have quality races. Caitlin ran a strong race today that placed her second on the team, and the leadership she has shown on and off the course is exactly what we need on our team. This women's team is young and in many ways inexperienced, but I believe this is just the beginning of a memorable season." "I knew coming into these races that we would face some excellent competition," Wilson continued. "But, I was proud of both the men's and women's teams for taking on this challenge and performing well. I definitely saw some things in the races today that we need to work on, but overall our runners had a strong race." MVNU will return to action on September 24 when both teams will take part in the Otterbein University Invitational.

Site Map