In a meet renamed after a fallen teammate, the Wilmington cross country team persevered through an emotional day.

The Fall Classic was renamed this season for cross country runner Jenna Parlette, who collapsed while leading a race on August 31, and passed away three days later.

"It was an emotional day for the team," said head coach Ron Combs. "I am proud of the girls for continuing to battle each week. Today was an amazing day. The first #JennaStrong Fall Classic was an amazing experience for everyone that was involved and participated."

Junior Tricia Steffen (Baltimore, OH/Liberty Union) led the way for the team that finished 25th of 34 teams. Steffen ran a personal-best 5K time, completing the course in 19:18.92 – good for 33rd place.

Junior Veronica Burnam (New Richmond, OH/New Richmond) was the next WC harrier to complete the distance, placing 159th with the time of 21:38.47, while sophomore Mary Krebs (Kettering, OH/Alter) 164th in the time of 21:46.03.

The final two Wilmington runners to score were freshman Sidney DuBois (Blanchester, OH/Blanchester), 178th in 22:14.33 and sophomore Sarah Murphy (West Liberty, OH/West Liberty Salem), 198th in 23:04.01.

Wilmington returns to the course noon November 2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference championships at Otterbein University.