The Oberlin cross-country team traveled to Hanover, Indiana this past Saturday to compete in what turned out to be their final race of the season. After claiming the North Coast Athletic Conference title two weekends ago for the first time in 22 years, the Yeowomen and Yeomen hoped to place within the top three teams in the Great Lakes Regionals and secure a ticket to nationals. Unfortunately, neither team made the final cut.

The Yeowomen finished the afternoon in 7th place out of 31 teams with three strong performances by sophomore Maddy Davis-Hayes, junior Marie Barnett and senior Barrie Newberger. Davis-Hayes led the pack for Oberlin with a 19th place finish out of 222 total runners in the 6k race. Barnett followed in 25th place while Newberger concluded her Oberlin cross country career in 28th place. All three runners earned All-Great Lakes Region honors by placing in the race’s top 35 places. Rounding out the Oberlin team was senior tri-captain Ariane Burwell and junior Alison Doniger who finished in 64th and 65th place respectively.

“We didn’t run as well as a team as we thought we would,” commented Barnett. “But overall, we ran really well this season and I think we’ll keep improving as a team in the future.”

On the men’s side, the Yeomen finished 15th out of 31 squads. Senior tri-captain Travis Grout crossed the finish line first for Oberlin in 50th place in the 8K race and was closely followed by senior tri-captain John Shaw in 54th place. Sophomore Conor Doss tied up the rear for Oberlin with an 84th place finish.

“It was disappointing for me,” Grout concluded. “Although some people had great races, there were a lot of people who didn’t do as well as they were hoping at the end of the year. Sometimes it just doesn’t come together. That was part of the case for me. Not rising to the occasion.”

 Although Oberlin did not receive an at-large bid to the NCAA championships, they are optimistic about the future of the Oberlin cross country program and hope to begin next season where they left off.