Cross Country | 11/7/2025 11:23:00 PM

Wooster, Ohio - The Oberlin cross country teams traveled to Wooster, Ohio Friday evening to compete at the Wooster Twilight Meet. The competition was held entirely on the track, and the competitors raced a 5k instead of the routine 6k and 8k. This change gave the racers a glimpse into the track season that is quickly approaching and brought the season to a close for some members of the Crimson and Gold.

The women's race kicked off the competition for the evening, with the gun going off at 7:00 p.m. Second-year Samantha Soto led the finishers for Oberlin, clocking a new 5k personal best of 19:37, improving upon her performance at last year's meet by almost a minute. Soto also claimed seventh place overall to cap off a strong performance. Following suit was first-year Lieke Everts, taking eighth place with a finishing time of 19:54. Classmate Sofia Picucci was next in line, closing with an impressive kick to finish 16th in 22:29.9. First-year June Essinger followed in 23:34 to close proceedings for the Oberlin women's team.

The men's race began later in the evening with crisp temperatures and ideal running conditions. Second-year Greydan Villano led the Oberlin men's team from the gun, and after appearing calm, cool, and collected the entire race, negative split his last lap for a personal record of 16:41 while taking 13th. Behind the second-year came first-year Tully Valentine-Maher, who debuted with his first collegiate 5k. Valentine-Maher crossed the line following a blazing-fast kick on the final lap of the race and ran a personal record of 17:33 with a placement of 20th. Classmate Simon Swai also ran his debut 5k, earning a new personal record with a time of 18:17 and crossing the finish line in 22nd place. 

"It was a great night at Wooster with many athletes achieving personal-best 5k times," said Head Coach Izzy Alexander. "Samantha Soto and Greydan Villano had especially strong races, each having one of their best performances of the season. The rest of the team members who weren't racing made posters and came down to watch and cheer, giving so much support and energy to the runners and making the meet feel like what we try to make every meet feel like, a total team event and celebration."

The Oberlin cross country team will send seven runners to the Great Lakes Regional Championship hosted at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, November 15. The men's 8k race is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., with the women's 6k race to follow at 11:00 a.m.

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