Men's 8K Results | Women's 5K Results

Joe David

The College of Wooster men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Ohio Wesleyan University Invitational on Saturday, and the men's squad highlighted the Fighting Scots' results with a second-place showing in the 12-team meet at Delaware, Ohio, their highest finish in a meet of this size in at least eight years.

The Scots were second only to Ashland University – one of a handful of NCAA Div. II schools that were at the meet – in the men's 8K, with their five fastest runners each scoring inside the top-32 in a crowded field.

Leading the charge was standout Luke Hutchings-Goetz, who was competing for the first time this fall, and placed sixth in a time of 26:07.9. Morgan Clark and Joe David were next, as they closed out the race together in 26:53.0 and 26:55.9, which was good for 19th- and 20th-place, respectively. Rounding out Wooster's scorers was newcomer Blake Pecoraro in 28th (27:32.7) and Derrick Marshall in 32nd (27:42.5).

Also noteworthy, four of the teams at the meet (Albion College, Kenyon College, host Ohio Wesleyan, and Wooster) were battling for the Great Lakes Colleges Association championship in addition, and the Scots finished in a three-way tie for first-place with Albion and Kenyon.

Wooster's women had a solid showing as well in the Ohio Wesleyan portion of the meet, as they took fifth of 11 schools and had a pair of first-years place inside the top-20.

Kayla Zboran finished the race just over the 20-minute mark in 20:06.1, which earned her 15th-place honors, and fellow freshman Emily Reid was right behind her in 18th with a time of 20:09.8. Others who contributed towards Wooster's team score was Lauren Buyan in 25th (20:22.7), Christina Haupt in 33rd (20:46.7), and Allison Chin in 44th (21:21.9). The women's GLCA ranking was fourth.

The cross country teams will be off for a bit before continuing their season at the Otterbein Invitational in Westerville, Ohio on Sept. 21.