MVNU Cross Country Teams Run Well at Wilmington


	Lady Cougar Cross Country Recaps MVNU Cross Country Teams Run Well at Wilmington written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Men's Race Results \| Women's Race Results WILMINGTON, Ohio (10-14-2011) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's and women's cross country teams had good individual performances and as a result good team showings as both teams competed at the Wilmington College Invitational on Friday afternoon. "We were all very fortunate that the weather held up today and it made for a nice day to run," said MVNU coach Chip Wilson. "There were a few sloppy spots on the course that were a concern for all the coaches because of the number of runners, but we did not have any problems." In the women's race, the Ohio State University team (83 points) edged out the University of Findlay (105 points) and host Wilmington (115 points) for the team title. The Lady Cougars finished 10th out of 25 teams with 368 points in one of the best showings in program history. Sharon Ronoh of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College won the individual title as she covered the five-kilometer course in 18:04 to easily beat her nearest competitor by 29 seconds. Freshman Lincoln Green led MVNU with a 48th-place finish out of 241 runners in 20:11. Sophomore Lindsey Minor followed with a new personal best of 21:13 as she finished 82nd, and senior Caitlin Edwards was 87th in 21:17. Freshman Becca Haught (21:20, 92nd), sophomore Ashley Mast (21:25, 95th), sophomore Alex Reasoner (21:33, 107th), junior Brittany Richter (21:36, 112th), junior Melissa Keiser (23:33, 183rd), freshman Sarah Mast (25:52, 218th), sophomore Kathleen Finley (25:57, 220th), and sophomore Katie Worthington (26:24, 224th) rounded out the runners for the Lady Cougars with Haught, Richter, and Finley each posting new personal bests. "I was very excited about the way the girls ran today," said Wilson. "We had several season best times and personal best times, and we are starting to close the gap between our No. 1 and No. 5 runners. I was ecstatic for Lindsey, Becca, Brittany, and Kathleen as they ran their best college times. It is always great to see smiles from runners when they finish a race and we saw many today. One of the areas I have continued to be encouraged about is that fact that our No. 2-No. 7 runners were only 23 seconds apart. In the coming weeks, I look for these girls to continue improving their times and setting new personal records." In the men's race, Findlay won the team title with 78 points to just nip Wright State University (86 points). Berea (Ky.) College was a distant third at 127 points. MVNU finished 20th out of 25 teams with 551 points. Dee Salukombo of Denison University won the individual title as he ran a blistering 24:33 for a 4:56 per mile average over the eight-kilometer course as the nearest competitor, Curtis Hanle, was 32 seconds behind him at 25:05. Senior Nate Winters led the Cougars by finishing 68th out of 298 runners in 27:03. Sophomore Jace Wolford (27:33, 94th), senior Kevin Poast (29:03, 173rd), freshman C.J. Larue (29:44, 210th), senior Chad Lawver (29:52, 217th), junior Mark Rednour (31:54, 256th), junior Jacob Pessia (32:34, 261st), freshman Chris Rednour (32:43, 265th), sophomore Mitch McKenzie (32:46, 266th), and junior Anthony Lee (32:49, 268th) rounded out the MVNU runners with Wolford, Poast, Larue, Lawver, and Chris Rednour each posting new personal bests. "I was very impressed with what I saw from the men's race today," said Wilson. "I have watched many of our inexperienced runners continue to develop into good runners, and this race proved they have what it takes to be competitive. Our guys got out quickly today and that was our goal. We did not want to get boxed in, so it was great to see these guys get out fast. This proved to be beneficial as Nate ran a season best and Kevin and Chad ran personal bests today. I was also very excited to see Jace and C.J. have breakout races. We still have work to do, but we will have another opportunity next week in Michigan." Both MVNU teams will return to action on Saturday, October 22 when they compete in the NAIA Great Lakes Classic at Aquinas (Mich.) College.

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