LIVE VIDEO: FINISH LINE | LEAD GATOR
*Story by David Wahl III
WILMINGTON, Ohio - After over a year's wait, the Wilmington men's cross country team will have a conference race, and no better place than home. The Quakers will host the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) race for the first time since 2012, where they placed fourth in the conference at the time.
The Race: The men's 8k race will shoot off in the early afternoon at 1:00 PM. The course winds through the campus of Wilmington College while detouring through the woods for a challenging segment.
Meet Background: The OAC Championship Race was last hosted in 2019 by John Carroll University with no race in 2020 due to COVID-19 cancellation. The reigning champions on the men's side is Otterbein University.
The Conference: The conference includes 10 teams, with four teams currently in the top 10 in Great Lakes Regional rankings. John Carroll (1), Otterbein (2), Mount Union (5), Ohio Northern (10), Wilmington, Baldwin Wallace, Heidelberg, Capital, Marietta and Muskingum will all be in attendance.
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 the conference race coming off of one of, if not the best performances they have had as a team all season. The group finished first at the home meet with a top 7 runner average time of 26:21. Simon Heys, coming off back-to-back first place finishes, has his eyes set on the front as the OAC has a competitive field leading the way. Noah Tobin and George Rickett will head the trail pack, as they have done all season long.
Coverage: Live results link will be listed above and results will be posted after the conclusion of the race.
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: Postseason is in full effect and the Quakers will run at the Great Lakes Regional Race on November 13th in Shelbyville, Indiana.
