Over the years, the #JennaStrong Fall Classic has grown leaps and bounds, and Saturday was just another step in it growth as a record 48 teams participated in Wilmington's annual cross country event.
"Twenty-two years ago it was four teams, and now we are up to 48 teams," said Wilmington head coach Ron Combs. "I think the big draw is the course. The event being named after Jenna is giving it extra significance. It means a lot to us, and it means a lot to us that so many people come out to support it."
Division II Ashland University won both races, finishing with 52 points in the women's race and 21 points in the men's race.
The Wilmington College men finished 19th of 38 teams, while the women were 18th of 43 teams. Five different WC runners recorded personal records while competing on their home course. Senior Jake Simpkins (Germantown, OH/Valley View) was the top Wilmington men's runner, placing 36th in a personal best time of 26:47.15.
Freshman Griffin Stith (Batavia, OH/Batavia) was the next Wilmington harrier across the mats, finishing 98th with a time of 27:59.35, which is a personal record. The final three Fightin' Quakers to score were junior Dominic King (Bettsville, OH/Bettsville ) with a time of 28:10.19, senior Scott Blubaugh (Kingston, OH/Logan Elm) in a time of 28:22.27 and freshman Cameron Erwin (South Vienna, OH/Northeastern ) with a time of 28:40.37.
Three women's runners - freshman Kylie Watson (Georgetown, OH/Georgetown), freshman Christina Paskow (Felicity, OH/Felicity-Franklin) and senior Veronica Burnam (New Richmond, OH/New Richmond) – all career-best times at the Fall Classic.
Senior Tricia Steffen (Baltimore, OH/Liberty Union) was the first WC runner to finish the course, placed 39th with a time of 19:41.62. Watson finished 97th as the second Wilmington harrier to finish with a time 20:33.88.
Paskow was the next Wilmington runner across the mats, finishing 115th in the time of 20:56.06, and Burnam followed in 127th place with the time of 21:07.08. The final Wilmington runner to score was Mary Krebs (Kettering, OH/Alter), who was 155th in 21:38.48
"I was pretty happy with our results," said Combs. "We had a couple people out with injuries – mostly on the guys side. We was a really competitive field. I am happy with the progress we made today. We are just young and inexperienced, and that is a tough place to be in an sport. If these kids can take it and build on it, we should be a good team down the road."
After a week off, Wilmington competes in the Ohio Athletic Conference championships.