Wabash finished first in the seven-team competition on Saturday, scoring 40 points in the race. Manchester College was second with 79, North Coast Athletic Conference rivals Denison and Wittenberg were third and fourth, respectively, with 80 and 93 points. Earlham was the fourth NCAC team in the race, finishing fifth with 109 points. Tri-State (sixth, 119 points) and Marian College (seventh, 156 points) rounded out the team scoring.
Smit took first place out of 101 runners, touring the course in 26:33 for his first individual victory of the season. Dan Ruge (Chesterton, IN/Chesterton) was fifth with a time of 27:47. Junior Mark Sherer (Valparaiso, IN/Valparaiso) was eighth (28:00).
Dan Sweet (West Bloomfield, MI/Culver Military Academy) took 13th (28:30), freshman Sean Dillon (Carthage, IN/Rushville) finished 19th (29:12), and Brandon Shipp (Indianapolis, IN/Franklin Central) was 25th (29:23).
The Little Giants will take next week off before participating in the NCAC Cross Country Championships at North Montgomery High School on Saturday, October 27.