Rogers, X-country excel in opening scrimmage

The Oberlin men's and women's cross country teams started the new season in style this past Friday with their home meet against conference power Wooster. The men were especially strong taking six of the top seven places including first through third. The women's team took six of the top twelve spots in an impressive field of thirty runners.

Despite the impressive finishes on both sides, this meet unfortunately does not count toward the conference standings. It was in effect a scrimmage with both men and women running at lower distances than normal competition.

Sophomore runner and men's team co-captain John Rogers placed first overall. In addition, Rogers was named NCAC player of the week, an honor voted upon by the coaches in the league. First year Forrest Crawford placed second with sophomore David Bevacqua third.

Medora Lytle, a junior, was the top women's finisher, placing third. Junior Rebecca Grossman, senior Rachel Sims, and senior China Weber placed sixth through eighth in what turned into a very tight race. Less than a minute separated Wooster's Emily Gorka, the eventual winner, from the tenth place finisher.

Coach Abby Lorge was very pleased with the results of all involved, but especially with that of Sims describing the senior's race as "a breakthrough" performance. Lorge feels that Sims, along with co-captain senior Katy Jones should be major factors as the season progresses.

Likewise head coach Tom Mulligan was pleased with the teams' performances. The times, while good, were not as important as "... the indication of what they got from the conditioning. We got to see how people react to racing which is a whole different animal from practice. Some were able to turn it up a notch."

The meet was held in rather pleasant conditions with clear skies and a temperature hovering in the mid-seventies. Numerous family members, friends and fans spread themselves around parts of the course to yell encouragement to the racers. Neither team seemed to struggle on the almost completely flat course, although several Wooster runners missed a turn early on before being brought back on track by Oberlin yelling "Right! Right!!"

"It was a good opening meet," said Mulligan. But he points out that the team still needs to focus on what's ahead. We're trying to make continuous progress, and [to] keep people healthy as best we can." Mulligan is still aiming for mid-October as the point at which he'd like both teams to be running in top form.

This Friday's meet at the Allegheny Invitational should give a better indication of what they need to do to improve.

"It will be key to see how the men do going into the full five miles, and the women into the full five k," Mulligan said. But if this first meet is any indication, the teams should do just fine.

Through the woods: Yeorunners condition themselves for the grueling season ahead. (photo by Stephen Menyhart)