WILMINGTON, Ohio – The College of Wooster women's cross country team edged out Centre College for the team title at Friday's JennaStrong Cross Country Classic, in what marked the Fighting Scots' first win in a meet larger than a quad since the Black & Gold finished as the North Coast Athletic Conference co-champion in 1998. Wooster's men checked in 12th of 33 varsity intercollegiate scoring teams.

Wooster, which led the 23 women's varsity intercollegiate scoring teams at 111 points, held off Centre, which went neck-to-neck with the Scots at 112 points. First-year Jessica Breth rounded out Friday's scoring contingent, coming across at 21:22.2, which was 76th of 258 finishers.

Further up, Wooster's one-through-four harriers dominated, with the Scots finishing as the lone team in the field with a quartet of top-14 placers. Senior Isabelle Hoover set the tone with a 19:18.4 on the 5,000 meters course, which was seventh overall. First-year Dylan Kretchmar, sophomore Athena Tharenos, and senior Kayla Bertholf weren't far off Hoover's team-setting pace, as they all finished within 19 seconds of Hoover. Kretchmar's 19:28.7 was 11th, Tharenos' 19:30.0 was 12th, and Bertholf's 19:36.8 ranked 14th.

Senior Rachel Osterhouse (21:54.2, 104th) and first-year Eva Bauman (22:20.0, 127th) rounded out Friday's top-seven.

Notable, Wooster's win marked the first non-dual meet victory for the Scots since 2007. That year, Wooster won its three-team Jim Bean Invitational.

Indiana University Kokomo's Lexi Jackson broke the tape at 18:21.0.

First-year Will Callender continued to lead Wooster's men, as his 26:54.1 was the top time within the team and ranked 28th of 325 finishers. Sophomore Duncan Hardy was next, covering the championship-length distance in 27:43.0, which was 58th.

Elsewhere, senior Alex DeLong's 27:59.7 was 73rd, first-year Ben Nichols' 28:05.5 was 82nd, and first-year Drew Robertson's 28:35.1 was 113th. First-year Eric Johnson navigated the course in 29:16.2 and sophomore Mitch Ecklund checked in at 29:23.3 to round out the top-seven. Johnson ranked 156th and Ecklund was 10 spots back of him.

Host Wilmington won the men's race with 101 points, while the Fightin' Quakers' Simon Heys took first overall at 24:44.9.

Coincidentally, the NCAC Championships are next for the Scots, with those set to take place on Saturday, October 30 at the Clark County Fairgrounds. Wittenberg University is serving as host, with start time set for 11 a.m.

landing page photo by Abbi Tarburton '22