Junior Andrew Harden leads Men's Cross Country to the Ohio Athletic Conference title
By: Ashley Birchmeier
BEREA — The Ohio Northern men's cross country team won the ten team Ohio Athletic Conference Championship held at the Wallace Lake course on the campus of Bladwin Wallace Saturday afternoon.
The Polar Bears (102-6 overall) finished with 39 points.
This marks the 11th consecutive season that the Polar Bears have finished in the top three at the OAC Championships and fourth time they have won the Championship dating back to the 2004 season.
"Our guys took control of the race early and did not let up," ONU head coach Jason Maus said. "We also had some younger guys step up. It was a great race for our guys. I am really proud of our effort."
Junior Andrew Harden led the Polar Bears across the finish line, finishing 4th of 139 runners in 25:22 over the 8,000-meter course.
With the 4th place finish, Harden earns First Team All-OAC honors.
Also earning All-OAC honors for the Polar Bears were sophomore Bobby Borger finishing 7th in 25:29.6, junior Kase Schalois finishing 8th in 25:32.2, senior Eric Wymer finishing 9th in 25:32.5, freshman Ian McVey finishing 11th in 25:41.8, sophomore Matt Molinaro finishing 12th in 25:44.5 and junior Aaren Hemmelgarn finishing 17th in 25:55.7.
Also finishing in the top 25 runners for the Polar Bears was junior Cully Gordon in 26:17.2, senior William Huddleston finishing 20th in 26:17.6 and freshman Spencer Schulze finishing 24th in 26:32.1.
Ohio Northern will take next weekend off in preparation for the NCAA Div. III Regional Championships Nov. 14 at Rose Hulman, located in Terre Haute, Ind.
Team Results
1. Ohio Northern 39, 2. John Carroll 62, 3. Mount Union 75, 4. Heidelberg 119, 5. Baldwin Wallace 125, 6. Otterbein 128, 7. Capital 203, 8. Wilmington 247, 9. Muskingum 260.
Top 5 Results
1. Alex Wilson (Mt. U) 25:07.6, 2. Matt O'neil (Mt. U) 25:13.3, 3. Brian Brennan (BW) 25:14.5, 4. Andrew Harden (ONU) 25:22.0, 5. Ian Kellogg (OTT) 25:26.8.
Ohio Northern Individual Results
4. Andrew Harden 25:22.0, 7. Robert Borger 25:29.6, 8. Kase Schalois 25:32.2, 9. Eric Wymer 25:32.5, 11. Ian McVey 25:41.8, 12. Matt Molinaro 25:44.5, 17. Aaren Hemmelgarn 25:55.7, 19. Cully Gordon 26:17.2, 20. William Huddleston 26:17.6, 24. Spencer Schulze 26:32.1, 30. Dan Sowa 26:45.5, 36. Michael Potter 26:52.2, 38. Matthew Ernstes 26:57.1, 41. Ian McKee 27:04.3, 42. Jonathan Wherry 27:05.2, 45. Collin Kemner 27:08.2, 47. Andrew Kurtz 27:13.0, 50. Adam Berry 27:17.3, 60. Cameron Rusnak 27:40.8, 63. Tyler Kennedy 27:44.0, 65. Alec Lunney 27:46.6, 66. Samuel Boyd 27:46.7, 73. Dominic Solis 27:54.3, 80. Eric Collins 28:06.3, 89. Evan Murtha 28:28.1, 98. Michael Murray 28:41.8, 107. Logan Perry 28:58.9, 113. Dustin Lumadue 29:42.0, 117. Alexander Wood 30:08.4, 118. Chester Swartzmiller 30:14.1, 128. Ian Klever 31:40.3, 131. Jacob Gallaher 32:45.4, 136. Collin Shaver 34:44.4,
