Shelbyville, Indiana - The Oberlin men's and women's cross country teams raced today at the Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships in Shelbyville, Indiana. Facing every Division III team in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Kentucky, the women's team finished 20-of-39 with 592 points, while the men's team finished 15-of-42 with 435 points.
The Regional Championships were held at the Blue River Cross Country Course, a generally flat course interrupted by steep undulating sections. The course was slightly damper than when Oberlin raced on it in September, but temperatures were ideal for distance running.
The women's team put two athletes in the top 100 of the 270-runner field. Senior Sage Serraino finished in 23:40 to place 67th, and fellow fourth-year Caleigh Lyons crossed the line in 24:10 to snatch 100th.
The duo of sophomore Charlotte Purcell and junior Amber Borofsky filed in next. Purcell brought it home in 24:48 to claim 131st and Borofsky was seconds behind, running 24:56 to snag 138th.
Junior Ella Wozek completed the scoring five for the Yeowomen, clocking in at 25:24 for 163rd place. Sophomore Logan Lane was close behind, finishing in 25:35 for 175th.
Rounding out the Oberlin squad, Camila Ciembroniewicz logged a valiant 25:46 for 179th; an impressive feat for the senior captain who battled illness all throughout the race.
All seven Yeowomen improved their times from September's preview meet: Serraino, Lyons, Wozek, and Ciembroniewicz each ran over 30 seconds faster. Lane and Borofsky ran nearly 80 seconds faster, and Purcell bettered her time by almost three minutes. As a squad, the Yeowomen placed fourth of NCAC teams, repeating their result from the conference championships.
On the men's side, the championship 8,000m race was a violent affair, as three Yeomen fell in separate instances.
In his first regionals appearance, Liam Newman tumbled in the race's first technical section. As the 283-man pack funneled from the start, Newman plunged over the crest of a steep rise. Despite the fall, the junior salvaged his race well, crossing the line in 26:59 for 107th place.
About a mile later, Jonah Barber was tangled in a fall that threw him head over heels. "Through 2,000 meters, I felt amazing. Then my life turned upside-down," Barber said. Trampled by the pack and then kneed in the head as he rose again, the senior finished in 26:17 for 62nd Somehow, Barber still bettered his time from September's race by 52 seconds.
Oberlin's last casualty was Piers Shirk, who tripped near the 3000-meter mark. Another runner kicked off a loose shoe, which toppled Shirk, sending him flying headlong. A painful reunion with the ground knocked the wind out of him, and the standout sophomore struggled home in 27:23 for 139th.
Fortunately, the rest of the Yeomen squad escaped disaster. Walter Moak blazed a 25:06 for 10th place, the fastest 8k of his career and his highest-career regional finish. The senior asserted himself in the lead pack, repeating his conference result as the third NCAC finisher.
The Yeomen's fourth and fifth runners, junior Charlie Endres and senior Danny Markey, finished seconds apart in 27:11 and 27:14, respectively. Endres crossed the line in 126th with Markey just back in 130th. Completing the varsity-seven lineup, sophomore Will Gordon turned in a 27:35 for 149th. While the three falls torpedoed Oberlin's team score, the Crimson and Gold still finished in the top-three of conference opponents, led by Wittenberg and DePauw in first and second, respectively.
The Regional Championships conclude the season for most of Oberlin's runners. However, Moak's run may have earned him a bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships. The NCAA will announce team and individual qualifiers tomorrow, Sunday, November 17th.
The National Championships will be held next Saturday, November 23rd, at the LaVerne Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. The men's 8,000m race will start at noon.
Fans can watch all the home matches live online. Home contests can be accessed on a TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.
