Last Saturday, Sept. 11, the Oberlin athletic fields were home to the men’s and women’s cross country Great Lakes Colleges Association Championships. It was the only home country meet of the season and Oberlin fans showed their support by turning out in sizeable numbers for the 10 a.m. meet on the North Fields.

In the 5000 meter course, the Yeowomen placed fourth out of eight teams with 104 points, led by first-year Alison Doniger and women’s team captain senior Shannon Morris. Doniger placed eighth with 19:59.60 and Morris placed 10th in 20:04.50.

First-years Marie Barnett and Danielle Koplinka-Loehr finished 22nd and 30th, with times of 20:50.70 and 21:06.70, respectively. Senior runner Sam Yarbrough finished 35th with an overall time of 21:20.40, sophomore Sophie Grimes finished 39th in 21:37.00 and first-year Anna Chernin finished 52nd for a time of 22:02.50.

“The course was really fast because it was so flat...except for our famous hill,” Grimes said. “It was also cool because there was a lot of positive energy from our fans.”

Sophomore Angie Parker led a pack of three finishers in 22:29.00 for 67th place. First-year Anne Low finished 68th in 22:34.30 and first-year Laura Boyd finished in 22:37.00 for 69th place.

Junior Stephanie Patterson followed close behind the group of underclassmen to finish 75th in 22:49.70. Sophomores Val Morgan and Jamie Hansen finished 109th and 114th in 25:30.60 and 26:37.20, respectively and junior Hilary Close crossed the line in 27:44.10, earning her 121st place.

The men’s cross country team put up a good effort as well, placing seventh out of eight teams with a total of 172 points in the 8000 meter race.

Sophomore Travis Grout was the first finisher for the Yeomen, crossing the line in 27:49.20, which earned him a 16th place finish.

Leading the first pack of finishers was sophomore Matt Ferris-Smith in 36th place with a time of 29:13.50. Sophomore Jessie Gerstin finished 43rd in 29:31.90, sophomore John Shaw finished 45th in 29:37.70, senior co-captain Mike Pennino finished 46th in 29:43.80, first-year Andrew Higgins finished 49th in 30:01.40 and junior Robby Tinker finished 50th with a time of 30:04.50.

“I thought the top seven guys...ran very well as a pack. We talked and encouraged each other for over the first three miles of the race,” Pennino said. “Our pack of runners just needed to be a bit more competitive with the other teams by passing more people after the first mile.”

Sophomore runner Thatcher Newkirk finished in 31:10.60 for 67th place, while first-years Daniel Lesser and Andrew Pike finished in 31:36.30 and 32:03.10, earning them 72nd and 75th place.

“The men’s pack stayed together as planned and it was fun to watch them put to work what we keep practicing in workouts,” said senior co-captain Ben Stanley, who watched the race from the side due to an injury. “Our seventh place finish could have been better, but it was just the second meet so there is much room for improvement.”

Sophomores Ross Hollister and Mat Gordon ran close together, earning 78th and 79th place, respectively, in 33:30.10 and 33:36.50. Sophomore Jonah Bloch-Johnson crossed the line in 40:12.00, securing an 89th place finish.

“We started off kinda’ slow and could never really catch up,” Grout said. “But we’ll get ‘em next time.”