In their first dose of competition with multiple Division I schools this season, the Ohio men’s and women’s cross country fared well at the Wake Forest Invitational on Friday.
Also for the first time this season, both squads were forced to adapt to longer course lengths, as the men’s race extended from 5K to 8K and the women switched from 5K to 6K.
The Ohio women took second place during their competition, trailing only Florida State, which was ranked fourth in the nation entering into the season. The Bobcats also ran against Miami, Wake Forest, Clemson and Shawnee State.
“They had an excellent performance,” said coach Clay Calkins. “We couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
Senior Juli Accurso was the Bobcat’s top runner, finishing third overall with a time of 21:05.00. Junior Morgan Reichert also notched a solid performance and placed ninth with a time of 21:39.83.
Other notable Ohio runners during the women’s race were sophomore Krista Roehlig (21:59.52), sophomore Kayla Scott (22:02.79), senior Melissa Thompson (22:11.38), and sophomore Caroline Hildebrand (22:41.72), who won last week’s Ohio Invitational.
The overall top runner at the meet was Florida State’s Hannah Walker, who finished the race with a time of 20:42.71.
On the men’s side, the Bobcats finished fourth after competing with Florida State, Wake Forest, Clemson, Shawnee State and Davidson.
“I don’t know if the results were an honest indication,” said Calkins. “Time will tell — we’ve been a better team as we go along.”
Sophomore Jarrod Genther was the top runner for Ohio, placing eleventh with a 25:27.83 time. The next Bobcat to finish was senior Chase Robinson (25:40.40), in 17th place.
Another three notable runners for the Ohio men were juniors Jacob Stephens (25:50.83) and Kurt Steinmuller (26:00.91), along with sophomore Jake Gentile (26:14.16) and freshman Michael McKean (26:18.68.)
Gentile had previously captured the top spot at the Ohio Invitational, though this weekend’s individual leader was Florida State’s Bryant Blahnik, who finished with a time of 25:07.17.
The Bobcats now have a week to rest before competing again in the All-Ohio Championships on Oct. 4.
gh181212@ohiou.edu
@charliehatch_
