WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College women's cross country team is set to host the sixth annual JennaStrong Fall Classic on Friday afternoon.
The Race: The five-kilometer race is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington will be joined by 42 other teams at the meet. Other NCAA Division III teams competing include: Mount St. Joseph University, the College of Wooster, Hanover College, Muskingum University, Wittenberg University, Marietta College, Franklin College, Transylvania University, Defiance College, Anderson University, Ohio Northern University, Capital University and Spalding University.
The Coach: Ron Combs is in his 23rd season as head cross country coach at Wilmington College. A 1993 graduate of Wilmington, Combs was a member of the only cross country team to win a conference title in school history. Also the head track & field coach at the College, Combs led the Fightin' Quakers to two top-10 finishes nationally with a sixth place finish at the 2002 NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Track & Field Championships and a seventh place mark at the 2004 Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships.
The Runners: Savannah Rhodes was the top Quaker to finish at the Eagle Invitational last weekend, doing so in 39th place with a time of 25:14.6. Allison Helmke crossed the finish line next, completing the six-kilometer course in 26:25.2 for a 97th place finish. The Wilmington trio of Katie Hughes (27:00.2), Kendra Stahl (27:39.4) and Kelly Rice (27:53.4) rounded out Wilmington's top five with all three recording sub-28:00 times.
About Jenna Strong: On August 31, 2013, Jenna collapsed while leading the Franklin College Invitational and passed away three days later. Jenna was a student-athlete who overcame many medical obstacles in her life to become an outstanding runner. We are all blessed that Jenna was a part of our school/cross country family and we all miss her dearly! To celebrate Jenna's life, we renamed the Wilmington Fall Classic the JennaStrong Fall Classic.
Social Media: Follow Wilmington athletics on social media! The Fightin' Quakers have a presence on Facebook (Wilmington College Athletics) as well as Twitter and Instagram (@DubCQuakers).
Coverage: Follow @DubC_XCTR and @DubCQuakers for updates on the meet.
Up Next: Wilmington has a week off before competing in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Championships on Oct. 27.
