CEDARVILLE – The Wilmington College men's cross country team placed 14th of 19 teams in the 2015 All-Ohio Cross Country championships, hosted by Cedarville University. Only three women's runners competed, making Wilmington ineligible for a team score.
Sophomore Hunter Stith (Batavia, OH/Batavia) continues his strong season, and was the first Wilmington runner to cross the line. He placed 52nd with a time of 27:07.03.
"Hunter ran a very strong race today in some pretty tough conditions," said Wilmington head coach Ron Combs. "I think it was the best race he's run in his two seasons at Wilmington. I think the rest of our top five got caught up in the field at the start. When you are in the middle of a field of 700 runners, it makes it difficult to move. I am excited to see where our men's team will be in two weeks at the JennaStrong. We are moving in the right direction with a very young team."
Sophomore Griffin Stith (Batavia, OH/Batavia) was the second WC runner to finish the 8K course, placing 77th with a time of 27:50.73. Senior Dominic King (Bettsville, OH/Bettsville) placed 88th in 28:11.40, while the Wilmington scoring was rounded out by freshman Rick Pride (Mount Orab, OH/Western Brown) and sophomore Tony Wydra (Miamisburg, OH/Miamisburg). Pride was 90th (28:15.18) and Wydra was 102nd (28:54.50).
On the women's side, freshman Brooke Gibbons (Pleasant Plain, OH/Blanchester) was the first Wilmington runner to finish, placing 136th with the time of 25:24.74. Freshman Alexis Rhodes (Old Fort, OH/Old Fort) was 231st with the time of 28:08.41, while junior Stephanie Fetters (West Milton, OH/Milton-Union) finished 247th with the time of 28:48.82.
"All three of our girls that ran showed some good improvement from the 6K we ran back at Franklin," said Combs.
Both teams will have a week off before hosting the 2015 JennaStrong Fall Classic.