On Oct. 28, the cross country team competed in the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships at Denison University. This was the start of the postseason for the cross country team as they look forward to their next two and final events, a meet at The College of Wooster and the NCAA regional championship in Akron. Out of the eight teams that competed this past weekend, the men’s team finished in second place and the women’s team finished in fourth. 

“We’re running our best when it matters most,” Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Coach Ray Appenheimer wrote in an email to the Review. “It’s a testament to how hard they have trained and how well the team has taken care of themselves throughout the semester.”

The women’s team finished the competition with 99 points. Third-year Sage Reddish led the Yeowomen and finished in 23 minutes and 13.4 seconds, earning them second-team all-conference honors. Fourth-year Eliza Medearis and third-year Camila Ciembroniewicz both earned third-team honors, while fourth-year Margo Lee, second-year Amber Borofsky, first-year Sophie Mateja, and third-year Caleigh Lyons all made it into the top 50.

The men’s team finished the competition with 62 points. The team’s best performances came from third-years Walter Moak and Jonah Barber, who ran the 8K in 26:12.2 and 26:18.7 respectively, earning the pair first-team all-conference honors. Third-year Johnny Ragsdale was not far behind and earned third-team all-conference honors with a time of 26:42:5. 

“We couldn’t have asked for a more positive start, to be honest!” Ragsdale wrote in an email to the Review. “I think we all ran great individually, but more importantly we worked very well as a team on a difficult course. That’s what will help us most at regionals!”

Appenheimer was quick to credit the runners who were highlights for the team this past weekend.

“So many of the runners stepped up today,” Appenheimer wrote. “Up front Walter, Jonah, Sage, and Eliza did a great job leading. For both Camila and Johnny, it was their first time getting all-conference honors in cross country. Danny, Margo, and Aiden were also close and ran great for the team. It was a total team effort.”

Ragsdale echoed Appenheimer’s statements and was quick to highlight how highly each runner placed in the race. 

“It just shows the strength in depth we have on this team!” Ragsdale wrote. “Cross country isn’t about who has the fastest runner, but the fastest team. For both the men’s and women’s teams, that’s the case!”

The positive note set the team in a great position for their final two events, one of them being the NCAA regional championships.

“We are all super excited for regionals,” Ragsdale wrote. “It’s going to be a fast course and the feeling around the whole team is we are so amped to toe the line together! If we treat regionals like we’ve treated every workout and every other race this season, we are a dangerous team.”