Cross country places second at Ohio Northern

Oberlin College's men's and women's cross-country teams brought their attitude and determination to the Ohio Northern Invitational last Saturday. Despite various problems throughout the meet, both teams delivered their best efforts and performed very well.

The Yeowomen's top twelve runners turned in an amazing job at Saturday's meet. They outran four other colleges to take second behind host, and Division III powerhouse Ohio Northern University.

"I think our [finish] shows how strong we are as a team this year," said senior captain Becca Grossman.

First-year Lori Tuchfeld took Oberlin's fastest time in the 5k run. She placed fourth overall with a time of 19:54, just 24 seconds behind the meet winner. Junior Jenni Huelsman came in sixth and senior captain Medora Lytle placed 11th. First-year Laura Feeney and junior Beth Spalding took 16th and 17th respectively. Grossman, who is still recovering from an injury, came in 27th out of the 67 runner field.

Although the Yeowomen are pleased with their placing at Saturday's meet, they continue to set their sights on goals for the rest of the season. "Everyone is working really hard and I'm certain that we'll have an excellent season," said Lytle. "I think we have a shot to take the top conference schools on and, if we do all we are capable of, we can move up significantly in the regional meet as well."

The women's team is looking forward to the Wooster Invitational this Friday with the enthusiasm that is characteristic of the members. "We're the coolest team!" senior captain Nikki Atkinson exclaimed.

The men's team faced numerous challenges at Saturday's meet. To begin with, junior David Bevacqua was unable to run at full strength as he continues to recover from illness. The team was also without the services of two other runners, stretching the small squad a bit further then they wanted to be stretched. Undoubtedly, these factors contributed to the team's disappointing last place finish. Nevertheless, the Yeomen battled valiantly, missing fifth place by a mere eight points.

John Rogers made Oberlin's fastest time, taking seventh at 27:12 and falling short of first by just 42 seconds. Junior Raymi Dyskant, senior Colin Fishwick and junior Hans Peterson took 16th, 21st, and 31st places, respectively. There were 61 runners in all.

"Obviously, we will continue to improve," said men's coach Mike Muska. The team is looking forward to the chance to participate in a meet when all of their runners can compete at full capacity. Until then, they remain positive.

"We're looking forward to future meets and learning our skills, what we have, and what we need to work on," said junior Dan Schwartz.

While the runners focus on performing at their personal bests, the coaches continue to provide direction for the whole team. Team members are pleased with Muska's and assistant Gavin O'Neal's training methods and running strategies. As they look toward this Friday's meet, they are confident that the scores will improve.

Both Oberlin squads are keeping in mind that the meets they run now can only provide experience for the crucial NCAC Championships and NCAA Regionals in late October and early November.

"A good first run on the Ohio Northern course gives us experience for the next time we [run a] meet there," said women's coach Roger Laushman. Ohio Northern is the site of two more cross-country meets. Their experiences on the course last Saturday left the women with a taste for victory and the men's team hungry to prove the results this time out were just a fluke. Both teams lace up their shoes on Saturday, Sept. 25, at the Wooster Invitational.