WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster women's team struck first with a 24-31 win over Denison University in a cross country dual meet at L.C. Boles Memorial Golf Course on Tuesday evening, before the Big Red bounced back in the men's race to win 18-43.

Wooster's Athena Tharenos, Kayla Bertholf, and Dylan Kretchmar occupied places two through four on the women's side, and that helped solidify the victory. Tharenos, a sophomore, navigated the 5,000 meters in 20:16.8, while Bertholf, a senior, crossed at 20:43.8. Kretchmar, a first-year, wasn't far behind, as she came across at 21:00.2.

Senior Rachel Osterhouse and first-year Jessica Breth helped secure the victory with the seventh- and eighth-place times of 21:58.9 and 22:05.0, respectively.

First-years Eva Bauman (22:51.2) and Elise Greenwald (22:57.0) were among Wooster's top-seven, and they had top-13 finishes in the 28-harrier field.

Wooster's men's scoring crew had a tidy spread of 1:07.1 on Tuesday. First-year Will Callender was first to the finish among the Scots' contingent at 17:04.5, and he took fourth-place overall.

Senior Alex DeLong backed that up at 17:22, which was sixth overall. Sophomore Duncan Hardy and first-year Ben Nichols were the Scots' three and four harriers on the night. Hardy had a time of 17:47.9, and Nichols was right behind at 17:53.9. The placed 11th and 12th, respectively.

Sophomore Mitch Ecklund's 18:11.6 ranked 15th of 36 competitors and marked the Scots' final scoring mark of the night.

First-years Drew Robertson (18:19.1) and Eric Johnson (18:32.4) rounded out the Scots' top seven.

Denison's Emily Willson (19:59.8) and Keanan Ginell (16:18.4) were the winners in the women's and men's race, respectively.

Wooster now has a 3-2 edge in the dual-meet series on the women's side, while Denison pulled ahead 3-2 on the men's side. The teams have met annually for a dual meet since 2016, with the exception of last year when there was no season due to COVID-19.

Next, Wooster's at Muskingum University's Invitational on Saturday, October 2. Start time is slated for 10 a.m.