*Story by David Wahl III
WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's cross country team hosts the JennaStrong Fall Classic in Wilmington on Friday, October 15th. This race not only showcases the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) 2021 conference meet course, but it also is in honor of Jenna Parlette. "Run with your legs, win with your heart."
The Race: The men's eight-kilometer will start early eveningn at 5:15 p.m. A link to the course map can be found above.
The Teams: Wilmington will be joined by 37 teams as the race draws many teams from outside of the conference.
The Coach: Ron Combs enters his 26th 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 Squad: The Quakers head into Friday eyeing the opportunity at a regional rank as they have just missed out all season long. Simon Heys has hopes to lead the team as well as the race, while the strong pack of George Rickett, Noah Tobin, Cohen Frost, Eric Reynolds, Josh Cyrus and Tyler Parks look to stick together through the entire race. The back 6 for the Quakers all finished within 30 seconds of each other this season.
Race Namesake: Formerly the Wilmington Fall Classic, this meet got renamed in honor of former Wilmington runner Jenna Parlette in 2013. Parlette, a member of the women's cross country team, was leading a race at Franklin College in the fall of 2013 only to collapse with the finish line in sight. She passed away three days later.
Coverage: Live results link will be listed above and results will be posted after the conclusion of the race. Video links for both the finish line and the pace gator are available via the links above.
Social Media: Wilmington athletics is represented on Facebook (Wilmington College Athletics), Twitter (@DubCQuakers) and Instagram (@DubCQuakers). Follow all the happenings of Wilmington College on social media by using the hashtag "#WeAreDubC".
Up Next: Wilmington will take yet another week off before returning back to the home course for the OAC Championship on October 30th.
