Cross Country | 9/13/2025 9:32:00 PM

Westerville, Ohio - The Oberlin College cross country teams traveled two hours to Westerville, Ohio where they competed at the Otterbein Invitational. It was a balmy 78 degrees during the races, and the meet featured North Coast Athletic Conference competition Denison and Wooster.

Fourth-year Liam Newman led the men's team efforts, fighting the heat to place 25th overall with a 27:07.5. Following for the Yeomen was first-year Cooper Tanski, clocking a debut 8k result of 28:18.9, which was good for 73rd place overall. Right on his heels in 74th was junior Will Gordon, crossing the finish line at 28:19.2. Next in line was first-year Ryan Faris, who ran 28:34 to place 83rd. Faris was followed by Grant Hirsch and Casey Smothers, who claimed 126th and 133rd with times of 29:40.2 and 29:58.6, respectively.

The Yeowomen were led by second-year Samantha Soto, who held on to 30th place throughout the race. Soto finished with a time of 24:17 for a one-minute personal best. Third-year Char Purcell followed Soto to place 42nd, finishing two seconds off their personal best with a 24:49. Next up for the Crimson and Gold was fourth-year Amber Borofsky, who crossed the line with a time of 25:12 to place 55th. Borofsky was closely followed by first-year Mirabel Adams, who ran her debut 6k in 25:16 to place 57th. First-year Chelsea Larsen and second-year Solana Pearl finished back-to-back in 70th and 71st place, running 25:52.5 and 25:53.4, respectively. Next up was senior Ella Wozek, who took 82nd in 26:26. Serafina Yan was close behind, claiming 113th in 26:26, marking a 15-second personal best for the fourth-year. First-year June Essinger followed the seniors, finishing 116th with a 29:19. First-year Sofia Picucci debuted in 118th with a time of 29:32, followed by fourth-year Celia Vaughn's debut in 132nd with a time of 31:29.

"It was great to have this meet as our first full 6k and 8k races," Head Coach Izzy Alexander adds. "It was very exciting that we had many of our women's team members finishing so close to each other. Our men's team first-years gained valuable experience at the 8k distance and I feel both teams had good lessons learned that we are looking forward to applying next weekend at Rochester."

The Crimson and Gold will resume action next week on Saturday, September 20, when they race in the Yellowjacket Invitational in Rochester, New York. The first race begins at 10 a.m. 

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