Oilers Make Their Presence Felt at OWU Invitational
The University of Findlay cross country teams opened their 2014 campaign with a solid showing at the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational in Delaware, OH on Saturday, September 6.
In the men's 8 kilometer run, Justin Eilerman, who missed last year's cross-country season due to injury, proved that his running prowess is not only on the track. The senior took first place in the race with a time of 25:40.1, the 11th fastest time in Findlay school history.
Close behind Eilerman was teammate, senior Jacob Hayes, who also showed his tremendous ability in distance running as he finished in third with a time of 26:12.
Running in his first collegiate race was Oiler freshman Matias Trampe-Kindt. The freshman placed 22nd overall with his time of 27:38.8. Sophomore Aaron Cingle finished 25 seconds later, at the 28:03.9 mark, and earned himself a 29th place finish. Rounding out the scoring for Findlay was sophomore Josh Seedorf who finished in 40th with his time of 28:37.2.
The Oiler men finished in fourth place as a team with 95 points scored.
In the women's race, Findlay shined as they brought home first place as a team and were paced by standout freshman Taylor Bolinger who, in her collegiate debut, finished in fourth place with a time of 19:25.9. Not to be outdone was junior Samantha Grippe who finished just seconds behind Bolinger. Grippe's time of 19:27.0 earned her a fifth place finish.
Another Oiler duo would finish close behind as junior Erica Bettac and sophomore Melanie Ruich finished in eighth and ninth with times of 19:35.2 and 19:36.7, respectively.
The final points for Findlay came from junior Meredith Hoops who finished in 19th with her time of 20:13.4.
Although the race featured a field of 135 runners, the Oilers' top 5 were among the first 19 to cross the finish line. This garnered only 40 points for Findlay and was a low enough score to bring home the OWU Invitational title.
The teams are off until next Firday, September 12th, when they will travel to East Lansing, Michigan for the Spartan Invitational. The women will run at noon and the men follow with a 12:30pm start.