A group of outstanding individual efforts combined for a solid team effort by the Wabash cross country team Saturday at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble. The Little Giants finished fifth out of 31 teams while posting ten season-best times.
The Little Giants scored a total of 193 points to take fifth just days after moving into the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches national rankings for the first time this season. Wabash, ranked 33rd in that poll, competed against some of the top teams in the nation, including most of the teams the Little Giants will face at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional at Hope College on November 13 and seven of the nine teams that will compete at the North Coast Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship meet. The conference championship event will be hosted by Wabash at Southmont Jr.-Sr. High School on October 30.
Seth Einterz finished fourth out of a massive field of 284 runners. Einterz ran his fastest time of the year by 40 seconds, finishing in 25:00.3. Kevin McCarthy also knocked more than 30 seconds off his best time of 2010, taking 21st place with a time of 25:40.1.
Donavan White finished 34th for the Little Giants. The junior bettered his season-best effort by almost 30 seconds, as well. Brian David was the fourth finisher for Wabash, taking 42nd place. His time of 26:08.6 was 40 seconds faster than any other 8,000-meter time this season. Kenny Farris trimmed 29 seconds off his best time this year, finishing 93rd with a time of 26:45.
Jake Waterman posted the best individual improvement for the season. He crossed the finish line in 118th place with a time of 27:02.2, more than 80 seconds better than his previous top time this season. Justin Allen was 121st with a time of 27:04.2, while Corey McFarland took 156th place.
Colin Dunlap's time of 27:41.50 was good for 168th place and was 38.5 seconds faster than his best time this year. Patrick Carter improved his best time by 47 seconds, finishing in 28:09.0 to finish in 201st place.
Michael Gough, Sam Starbuck, and Jacob Surface ran in the open race, with Gough and Starbuck posting season-best times. Gough took 15th place with a time of 27:41.1, less than a second faster than his best effort this year. Starbuck's time of 28:38.8 was good for 45th place and was 40 seconds better than his best time. Surface narrowly missed running his best time of the year, finishing in 29:20.6 to take 70th place. His best effort in 2010 came with a time of 29:20.0 at the Notre Dame Invitational.
Allegheny won the team competition with a total of 66 points. Elizabethtown College was second (130 points), followed by Carnegie Mellon (174) and Albion (188). Case Western Reserve followed Wabash with a sixth-place finish by scoring 199 team points. Ohio Wesleyan (237), Ithaca (254), Denison (275), and Mount Union (280) rounded out the top ten team places.
The Little Giants are off until the NCAC Championship Meet on October 30.