Complete Men's Results
Complete Women's Results
The College of Wooster cross country teams improved a combined three spots over their placement in the coaches' pre-championship poll, as the Fighting Scot women finished in fifth-place and the men seventh at Saturday's North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, held at Liberty Park in Powell, Ohio. The women were picked seventh, but thanks to three all-NCAC performances, cleared Ohio Wesleyan University and Denison University in the standings, while the men jumped past rival Wittenberg University for their eight-place finish.
The trio of sophomore Sarah Appleton, freshman Colleen O'Neil, and freshman Erin Plews-Ogan paved the way for Wooster's score of 114 points. Oberlin College took home the crown with 33 points, a fairly comfortable margin over Wittenberg (76), Allegheny College (82), and Kenyon College (93). The Scots outpaced Ohio Wesleyan (126), Denison (168), Earlham College (266), and Hiram College (281).
Appleton collected an all-conference certificate for the second year in a row, moving up from honorable mention to second-team status as she covered the 6K course in 24:29.0, good for 13th-place. Literally right behind her was O'Neil, who crossed a half second later (24:29.5) for 14th, which also put her on the All-NCAC Second Team. Plews-Ogan was an honorable mention all-conference recipient, coming in 17th overall (24:43.6).
Rounding out the Scots' scorers were juniors Chelsea Fisher in 38th (25:45.8) and Jessica Yarmosky in 41st (25:50.9).
In the men's 8K race, Wooster senior Rik Workman was a single spot shy of all-conference recognition while taking 23rd overall via a time of 27:43.0. His twin brother, Terry Workman, crossed moments later, earning 26th-place in 27:49.2. The duo helped the Scots produce 189 points, well ahead of Wittenberg (218), Earlham (264), and Hiram (283), while Allegheny had five of the top-nine finishers, resulting in a dominant 25-point score and the NCAC championship.
In addition to the Workman brothers, Wooster received scoring performances from senior Jeff Lyman in 41st (28:17.6), freshman Kevin DeGroot in 61st (29:09.1), and sophomore Ethan Rudawsky in 62nd (29:11.5).
In two weeks, the Scots will compete at the NCAA Div. III Great Lakes Region Championships, being hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind.