At her first Mid-American Conference Championships, freshman Carime Reinhart took fifth place, helping the Ohio women's cross country team to a 10th-place finish with 255 points.
The Bobcats moved up three spots from last year's last-place conference finish.
Coach Clay Calkins said it was great to finish in front of Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Marshall, who all finished ahead of Ohio last year.
It's where we thought the girls would finish
he said. It's higher than we finished last year.
Andrea Maas, who finished 39th, said it was good for the team to move up in the standings this year.
I knew we had it in us to be better this year she said. We have more depth than last year.
Reinhart, who finished ahead of all the other freshmen and sophomores in the field, completed the 5K race in 18:23. Reinhart earned All-MAC First Team honors.
It was definitely a tough race but I kept my goals in mind during the race
she said. I knew what I wanted to accomplish.
Calkins said making the All-MAC team as a freshman is a step in the right direction.
Carime had a fantastic race
he said. When that happens (making All-MAC First Team)
you known that she is doing good as a freshman.
Reinhart said she was excited and honored to represent Ohio and the running program so well this weekend. Reinhart also said the women came together this weekend as they improved on their finish from last year.
Maas, who finished in 19:21, was the second Ohio runner to cross the finish line. She said she was mentally preparing herself all last week for this race.
It was definitely my best race of the season
she said. I ended the season on a good note.
Alicia Myers (65th), Lauren Birnie (78th) and Katelyn Reepmeyer (81st) also contributed to Ohio's final team score. Ali Green (83rd), Stephanie Knous (95th), Kendra Churchill (98th) and Anna Wines (104th) also competed for Ohio.
Buffalo's Jenny Koeppel won the women's race in 17:51, just eight seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
Kent State won the team title with 84 points, with only one top-10 finisher. Ball State was second with 86 points. Rounding out the top five were Akron, Buffalo and Toledo.
In preparation for the Great Lakes Regional meet in two weeks, Calkins said the team would be decreasing mileage in practice to get ready for the meet.
The Bobcats will travel to Ypsilanti, Mich., to compete at the regional meet Nov. 13.
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Julie Goldberg
