The Oberlin cross country teams performed extremely well at the Otterbein Invitational last Saturday. The Yeowomen placed first while the Yeomen finished third.

On the 6000-meter course the Yeowomen finished first out of 11 teams with a total of 58 points. In the words of junior Travis Grout, “The women’s race was incredible. First place. We just don’t do that at Oberlin cross country. Until, it seems, this season. Everyone ran exceptionally well.”

Sophomore Alison Doniger, who placed second with a time of 22:56, led the Yeowomen. Junior Ariane Burwell also performed very well, placing fourth with a time of 23:01. Wrapping up the scoring for the Yeowomen were first-year Flannery Cerbin, first-year Aileen Gallagher and sophomore Marie Barnett, finishing 16th, 17th and 19th, respectively.

Reflecting on the meet, Cerbin said, “The race Saturday was true cross country. The course was muddy, wet and overall slop, but the Oberlin ladies showed tremendous guts. Everyone on both the men’s and women’s teams has been working extremely diligently to improve. The hard work is starting to pay off.” After the race Head Coach Ray Appenheimer explained that this race was really the start of the competitive season. “What better way to start than with a win? I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of this team and very eager to see how the rest of the season progresses. Watch out conference, here comes Oberlin XC!”

Appenheimer was extremely excited about the performance. “The Yeowomen took a big step forward at the Otterbein Invitational this weekend,” he continued. “They are setting themselves up for a truly impressive season.”

The Yeomen also stepped up to the challenge this Saturday, finishing third out of nine teams with a total of 85 points. Said Grout, “The guys’ third-place finish may not look as impressive, but there’s more than meets the eye. Dan Lesser--number two at GLCAs--ran sick and didn’t make the top five. Myself, I ran a singularly mediocre race and finished 11th, well behind where I probably should have been. The team, though, took up our slack, even against tougher competition. If the guys keep running like that and Dan and I get back into stride, you have a team that can run with anyone in the NCAC.”

Grout led the team with an 11th place finish, completing the 8000-meter course with a time of 27:11. Following Grout was sophomore Andrew Pike who placed 18th with a time of 27:51. First-year Conor Doss finished 20th with a time of 28:06. Finishing the scoring for the Yeomen were junior John Shaw and first-year Corey Squire with a 23rd and 25th place finish, respectively.

Reflecting on the Yeomen’s performance, Doss said, “Each week, the men’s team makes improvements overall. At Otterbein, we showed each other what we can do, and it’s becoming very exciting. We’re all friends, we all look to one another for support and we all believe that the team is more important than any of the individuals.” Appenheimer was equally impressed with the men’s squad. “Our men really showed improvement on Saturday. I can’t wait to see how they progress going into the NCAC meet.”

Oberlin will be competing at the All-Ohio Championships at Ohio Wesleyan on Oct. 7.