This past Sunday, Oberlin’s cross country team traveled to Terre Haute, IN to compete in the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships.
The men’s team dominated the competition and was ultimately crowned conference champions. This marks the team’s second time winning the title in the program’s history — with the first time being only two years ago, in 2022.
The Yeomen had three runners place among the top 10 finishers in the 8,000-meter race. Fourth-year Walter Moak led the pack with an imposing time of 25 minutes and 35.17 seconds to secure third place, only 11.7 seconds behind first place. Right behind him was former NCAC Athlete of the Week fourth-year Jonah Barber, coming in at 25:45.94 to take fifth place. Second-year Piers Shirk also performed well, arriving seventh in the race at 25:53.83.
Two more Yeomen were within the top 15: third-year Charlie Endres placed 12th with a time of 26:25.58 and fourth-year Danny Markey placed 14th with a time of 26:31.93.
After such an impressive race-day, it’s no surprise that multiple Oberlin athletes were chosen for all-conference honors. Moak, Barber, and Shirk all landed first-team selections, while Endres and Markey were awarded second-team placements.
“We came into this race knowing we had the strongest team, which differed from previous years where it felt like we were more of the underdogs. Walter Moak, Piers Shirk and I had a plan to stick in the top five for most of the race, and we did just that,” said Barber in a message to the Review.
Head Coach Izzy Alexander elaborated Oberlin cross country’s mentality coming into the meet in a message to the Review.
“We knew we were returning a strong team. Almost the entire team that placed second at the conference meet last year was returning for this season, so the goal of winning conference was something that fueled the team throughout the summer and this fall. We knew it was going to be a tight race between the top four teams, [with] the Wittenberg Men’s team [being] particularly strong this year, so we talked about how every point matters, every person racing matters, and how there is always a reason to run hard,” Alexander said. “I am so happy for our group of men’s team seniors who raced on Sunday — Walter, Jonah, Danny, Johnny, and Jerry — as they have put a great deal into this program throughout their Oberlin careers.”
It is clear that the Yeomen’s mindset of running hard no matter what is a good one. Alexander, Assistant Cross Country Coach Eric Line, and the rest of the cross country coaches were also named Men’s Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year as a result of their team’s impressive performance. It is clear that the era of Oberlin cross country dominance in the NCAC is just beginning, and it will be great to watch the team continue to succeed.
“Our assistant coach, Eric Line, has been a great addition to this cross country program, and our track coaches — Ben Wach, Jillian Roberts, Eric Klopfenstein, and Ray Harris — are part of this too because our cross country and track and field teams are so intertwined,” Alexander said when asked about winning the award. “Nothing happens in isolation. The award also belongs to our now associate athletics director, Ray Appenheimer, who championed this program for 20 years and who I had the honor of working with for 10; to our athletics director, Natalie Winkelfoos; our entire athletics administration and coaches for all the support and cheers; and our sports medicine staff, especially our athletic trainer, Christine Schwartz, who does so much for the athletes. They are all part of both awards.”
The Yeomen will return to action tonight at 7 p.m. at The College of Wooster 5k Twilight.
