Scot Cross Country Season Wraps Up at Regionals

Jennie Stockdale

The College of Wooster cross country season came to a close this past Saturday (Nov. 16) with strong showings from the men and the women at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships, hosted by Ohio Northern University. The Wooster women placed 10th off 33 teams - an eight-spot jump from last year's regional meet - and the men came in 11th in their 31-team field.

Calvin College won both divisions, scoring 39 (men) and 70 points (women) to edge the men from Mt. Union College (68) and the women from Baldwin-Wallace College (87). All four squads advance to represent the Great Lakes at this week's NCAA Div. III Championships.

Pacing the Scots' women's squad was Jennie Stockdale, who ran the 6K course in 23:36, good for a 35th-place finish in the field of 227 harriers. Not far behind was sophomore classmate Tiffany White in 53rd (24:01), while also scoring for Wooster were junior Karina Colbenson, sophomore Erin Herl, and senior Devon Herl. The trio worked together to finish 80th (24:24), 81st (24:25), and 82nd (24:26), respectively.

The Scots' other two runners at the regional meet were sophomores Lindsey Dieringer and Vanessa Georgeson, who came in 115th and 151st with respective times of 25:03 and 25:36.

In men's action, Wooster's Evan McDaniel capped his cross country career by once again leading the team. The senior and three-time all-conference honoree came in 41st out of 219 runners, covering the 8K course in 26:22. Freshman Taylor Delhagen and senior Jared Rhode were next for the Scots, placing 72nd (27:05) and 76th (27:10), respectively. Rounding out the Wooster scoring were a pair of first-years - Colin Turner in 86th (27:18) and Chris Taft in 110th (27:47).

Also competing were junior Patrick Wynee, who crossed the line in 28:00 flat for 122nd-place, and senior Carson Bennett, who was 136th (28:13).