The Oberlin cross country teams took advantage of the relative quiet on campus last Friday to host their first and only home meet of the season. Conference rival Wooster and non-conference opponent Heidelberg attended the unscored meet, which kicked off Oberlin’s season.
Senior Laura Feeney picked up right where she left off last year, winning the women’s 2.5-mile race with a time of 15:12. Over her years as a member of both the cross country and track teams, Feeney has established herself as one of the conferences top runners, and she was honored again this week as the North Coast Athletic Conference’s Runner of the Week for her performance.
Other top female performers for Oberlin were seniors Kyle McKenzie and Lori Tuchfield, who both broke the 16 minute mark in finishing fifth and seventh, respectively.
“I feel we raced very well as a team on Friday night,” Feeney said. “Everyone looked strong throughout the race.”
Evan McDaniel of Wooster took the men’s 4-mile race with a time of 21:25, but Oberlin made a strong showing with juniors Adam Greeney and Alex Scally finishing second and third with times of 21:41 and 21:53, respectively.
The meet was also the first under new head coach Jason Hudson, who, among other previous positions, has worked as a coach at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Hudson has taken over from former coach Tom Mulligan who left to take a position as the Athletic Director for conference rival Hiram College.. He inherits a good-sized women’s team, most of whom are returning runners. The men’s team on the other hand, is lacking in numbers.
“We’ve got a small team,” senior Mike Severino said, “but a good team. We’re still trying to get a couple people out [for the team].”
Hudson will get a chance to return to Case Western as the cross country teams are scheduled to run in a 10 a.m. race there tomorrow.
Feeney was confident about Oberlin’s prospects for the season. “I think by the end of the season, as long as people stay healthy, both teams could do very well in the conference.”