The Oberlin College cross country teams finished with style last Saturday at the Great Lakes Regional Meet, hosted by Ohio Northern University. The women finished third out of 33 teams and the men placed 17th.
“Both teams have competed well all season,” head coach Jason Hudson said. “Everyone ran well on the cold, snow-covered course. The men’s goal was to see how fast they could run and how high they could finish in the region.”
The top performer for the men’s team was junior Adam Greeney, whose time of 26:22 was fast enough to earn him 40th place. Junior Alex Scally and senior Michael Severino earned 91st and 93rd places, respectively, both running the same time of 27:29.
“It was a solid team effort,” Hudson said. “I’m pleased with the team’s performance.”
Running in their first, and only, 6K race of the season, the women’s team prevailed with three All Region Performers. Senior Laura Feeney ran 23:02 and finished 12th, senior Lori Tuchfeld finished 24th with a time of 23:17 and junior Julia Goeke, with a time of 23:29, finished 32nd.
“The women’s team missed qualifying for the national meet by one place,” Hudson said. “Laura [Feeney] missed qualifying for nationals [individually] by two places. This was the women’s most successful season since 1984.”
“The team dynamics were excellent,” Tuchfeld said. “They were an integral part of the outcome of the season.”

This is Hudson’s first year at Oberlin College. Acceptance of his new coaching style was a bit rocky at first, but the runners trusted him and ended up running some of the fastest times in years.
“It’s always tough for athletes to accept a new coach,” Hudson said. “Especially seniors who’ve had the same coach for three years.”
“He is very effective as a coach,” Tuchfeld said. “Everyone put in their best effort and it showed in the outcome of the season.”
Next year, the men’s team will lose only one runner: Severino.
“He ran a great race,” Hudson said “It was a good way to finish his last cross country meet of his collegiate career.”
The women will lose four seniors; three of them are part of the top seven runners on the team.

With this season over, Hudson is already looking ahead and making predictions for next year’s cross country season.
“The men need one impact runner next season,” Hudson said. “They’re one year away from becoming one of the top 10 teams in the region and among the top three in the conference. Ideally, the plan is to bring in five first-years for the women. If no one is brought in, the team will continue to develop and be successful.”
Hudson plans to stick around for a while and hopefully future seasons will be as successful at this past one.
“I feel at home at Oberlin,” Hudson said. “I’m looking forward to the track season and the next cross country season.”