Jackson Feinknopf

Collier Summay

The College of Wooster women's cross country team turned in a strong showing in its final tune-up for the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships with a finish in the top third of the Jenna Strong Fall Classic field, while the men's team also gained momentum for the league meet with a finish in the top half of the 38-team field on Friday afternoon at Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio.

The Fighting Scot women placed 12th in a field spanning all divisions of collegiate competition, while the men finished 17th on the afternoon.

The fourth-annual event honors the memory of Wilmington runner Jenna Parlette, who collapsed at a meet and later passed away.

Wooster's women's team placed fourth among Div. III teams, and senior Kayla Zboran was the fifth Div. III runner to cross. Overall, Zboran placed 23rd in a field of 366 finishers, and navigated the 5K course in 18:57.4, marking a personal-best cross country 5K time.

Teammate Collier Summay also broke the 20-minute battier, while crossing the line in 60th (19:47.7), while Ashley Ferguson wasn't very far behind, placing 83rd (20:08.05).

Wooster's other point producers clocked in at under 21 minutes in Cobi Warstler, who was 121st at 20:49.8, and Jacquelyn White, who was 130th at 20:53.7.

In the men's race, the Scots placed fifth among Div. III teams, while senior Blake Pecoraro placed 13th out of Div. III harriers and 65th overall, navigating the 8K course in 26:30.8.

Jackson Feinknopf delivered a big-time performance on the afternoon, placing in the top quarter of the final, and breaking the 27-minute barrier (26:51.7) for a personal-best 8K time, shedding over a minute off of his previous best.

Wooster's three-through-five finishers came in as part of a crowded group with Alex Chabraja leading the Scots' trio at 27:05.4 to place 101st. Aedan Pettit (27:21.0) and Geoffrey Carney-Knisely (27:36.4) rounded out the scorers and finished 124th and 140th respectively.

Next up for Wooster is the NCAC Championships, which will be held on Sunday, Oct. 30 at Greencastle, Ind.