Cross Country – The Oberlin Review

Quadmates Find Support in Athletics, Classroom, and Beyond

Zoë Martin del Campo, Contributing Sports Editor

November 8, 2019

When College second-years Lucca Abele, Anna Scott, Phoebe von Conta, and Maggie Allen are together, they often cannot hold a conversation without it eventually dissolving into laughter. In addition to being teammates on the cross country and track and field teams, the four live together, have overlapping academic interests, and take many of the same classes; all of which have fostered deep friendships that shape many aspects of their Oberlin lives. The four initially met as first-years during cross country preseason, which required them to be on campus a month before orientation. Allen and von Conta both agreed that they remembered Abele because she is vegan and from Vermont. Scott was more reserved her fir...

Women’s Cross Country Win Rumble: An Annual Tradition of Determination

November 1, 2019

On the morning of the Inter-Regional Rumble, members of the Oberlin women’s cross country team prepared by putting on glitter and writing words of encouragement on each other with colorful pens. Coaches, friends, Oberlin alumni, and family were on the sidelines cheering for their teams as athletes lined up at the starting line, a sea of multicultural uniforms. When the gun went off, the sound of pounding feet filled the air as hundreds of cross country athletes raced around the 6- and 8-kilomet...

Community of Athletes in OSCA Continues to Grow

Zoë Martin del Campo, Contributing Sports Editor

September 27, 2019

For many at Oberlin, being a member of the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association is a central part of their college experience. OSCA provides a quirky and affordable community, leadership opportunities, and environmentally-wise and healthy food options for nearly one-quarter of the student body. Because of the nature of these completely student-run dining and housing facilities, being a member is a time commitment that consists of cooking and crew shifts or other managerial duties, which can conflict with athletic practices and games. However, for a small group of students, being a varsity athlete and a part of OSCA are not seen as mutually exclusive activities, providing unique communities and responsibilities. ...

Cross Country and Track & Field Teams Work at Community Service Site

September 20, 2019

The mens’ and womens’ Cross Country and Track and Field teams volunteered at various Oberlin and Lorain County establishments on their Day of Service last Sunday. A group of 76 athletes and five coaches helped workers at the Oberlin Heritage Center, Family Promise of Lorain County, Kendal at Oberlin, Prairie of Western Reserve Conservancy, Oberlin Community Services, and the Legion Field Community Garden complete various site-specific tasks throughout the day. This event was the Cross Country...

Senior Trio Poised to Repeat as Conference Champions

Alexis Dill, Sports Editor

September 6, 2019

As College seniors Shannon Wargo, Oona Jung-Beeman, and Marija Crook each accepted their “Most Outstanding First-Year” award at the end-of-the-season cross country banquet three years ago, Associate Head Cross Country Coach Izzy Alexander told the entire team that together, the trio made up the perfect runner. Wargo started each race strong, Jung-Beeman performed her best in the middle of a race, and Crook always finished with incredible endurance. “If you put those three things together, that’s how every runner wants to race,” Wargo said. After three years and nine seasons of cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field, the trio has collectively received over 12 all-...

Nature’s Company All the Way

November 30, 2018

On a midseason Sunday about two months ago, before Oberlin became covered with a layer of ice beneath an inch of snow, College first-year and cross country runner Avery Coreschi walked briskly to practice. Few trees were bare, some were still green, and others had turned a burnt red or a dark shade of orange. Oberlin was in the midst of autumn, when the weather’s almost always just OK. At 8 a.m. he completed a routine cross country workout: eight miles around campus, no break. Mos...

Yeowomen Dethrone Gators, Capture Coveted NCAC Title

November 2, 2018

College junior and cross country runner Shannon Wargo immediately noticed the look of disappointment and defeat on the faces of her three teammates who finished before her when she reached the finish line Saturday, Oct. 27, at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship. Certain that her team would fall short of winning the conference title for the fourth year in a row, Wargo used positive self-talk to keep her spirits up. “It’s not the end of the world,” Wargo told herself...

Good Recruiting Leads to Great Success for Cross Country, Track and Field

September 14, 2018

It was four months ago that Lilah Drafts-Johnson, OC ’18, clutched her first-place trophy while being mobbed by teammates and coaches. She had just run the 10th fastest 400-meter hurdle time in the event’s history at the NCAA Division III Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and could finally call herself a national champion — a promise she made to herself three years earlier. Two days later, it was her Oberlin College diploma that she held with pride. After four year...

Halsten Claims Regional Championship, Headed to Nationals

Julie Schreiber, Sports Editor

November 17, 2017

Select members of the men’s and women’s cross country teams took their marks in Powell, Ohio last Saturday to compete in the NCAA Great Lakes regional meet — one of the final contests of the season for both teams. The meet, which was hosted at Ohio Wesleyan University, featured 36 men’s and 25 women’s teams with a total of 242 men and 247 women competing, all from schools belonging to the Great Lakes Region. The Yeomen finished 26th overall with a score of 727, while the Yeowomen surged to fifth place with a score of 184. “Both teams executed the game plans we wanted on Saturday,” Head Cross Country Coach Ray Appenheimer said. “The men’s team did a really good job moving up in the second half of the ra...

Halsten’s Overall Victory Highlights NCAC Meet

November 3, 2017

A resounding first-place finish by junior Linnea Halsten highlighted last weekend’s North Coast Athletic Conference Championship Cross Country meet, but both the women’s and men’s teams fell short of expectations. Widely regarded as the NCAC favorite, the Yeowomen were upset by Allegheny College and finished second, six points behind the Gators, while the men finished seventh. Halsten said expectations may have lulled the Yeowomen and left them unprepared for a determined Allegheny squad. ...

Rumble-Champion Yeowomen Look to Dominate

October 27, 2017

The cross country teams hope to sustain their success as they prepare to host the North Coast Athletic Conference championship meet tomorrow, after hosting and performing well at the Inter-Regional Rumble Oct. 14. Looking forward after the Rumble, in which three Yeowomen notched career-best times and the team finished first, the women’s team aims to hoist a conference championship and qualify for the NCAA meet for the first time since 2014. The Yeomen and Yeowomen both viewed the Rumble as a key...

Cross Country Shines at Meets

Sam Harris, Staff Writer

October 6, 2017

The Oberlin men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in their fifth race of the season last Friday at the All-Ohio Championships, hosted by Cedarville University, and at the Paul Short Invitational, hosted by Lehigh University. At All-Ohio, the women’s team finished 25th of 38 teams in their race. They finished 11th of 18 Division III schools in the race, and holding their own against schools such as Ohio University, University of Cincinnati, and the University of Akron. At the Paul Short, the women were 9th of 20 teams. Among the top finishers for the Yeowomen at the Paul Short Invitational were junior Oona Jung-Beeman, sophomore Shannon Wargo, and first-year Corrie Purcell. Jung-Beeman led the pack, finis...