In their second meet of the year at the Great Lakes College Association championships on September 8, both the Oberlin men’s and women’s cross country teams showed their regional rivals that they are the teams at or near the top of the food chain.

The Yeomen moved one spot higher than their fourth-place finish last year to end in third. They also bested conference opponents Ohio Wesleyan, Earlham, Wooster and Kenyon, falling shy of second-place Denison by 13 points and first-place Wabash by 20.

In the 8K race, Oberlin was led by juniors Conor Doss and Ryan King, who finished seventh and eighth, respectively. Doss only missed the pinnacle of the result sheet, set by Kenyon’s Jim Boston, by 48 seconds.

Last year’s champions, the Yeowomen, again brought something special to the GLCA Championships, winning the competition once more by besting their closest competition, Ohio Wesleyan, by ten points.

OWU was the lone school to even get near the mark set by the Yeowomen as the rest of the field fell behind by 49 or more points. This included conference foes Kenyon, Denison, Wooster and Earlham.

Pacing the Yeowomen in the 5K run were first-year sensation Joanna Johnson and junior Nicky Ouellet, who finished the race in second and fourth, respectively. Johnson missed the top spot of the competition by less than five seconds.

“Our coach told us that we had a good shot of winning, but that was also a little bit intimidating. Either way, we ran hard and stepped up to win,” said senior Alex Petek.

It has been a wonderful start to the running season for the harriers, who have seen success in their last two meets. They look forward to being in top form as the All-Ohio Championships loom in three weeks.

The Yeomen will look to continue the wonderful marks being set in their meets while entertaining dreams of conference glory, whereas the Yeowomen continue to cement their place on the top of the cross country ladder, desiring yet again the title of NCAC champion.