Roger An
Contributing Writer
The College’s cross country team started off the season with their annual Wooster Invite Friday at L.C. Boles Golf Course. The meet featured a trio of events, featuring the women’s 4K and 5K and men’s four-mile, as opposed to the traditional combination of an 8K for men and 6K for women, which is protocol for championship meets.
The Scots took on the 5K by sweeping the second through seventh place spots. Matt Klonowski ’21 had a strong showing in his first collegiate meet, coming in first for the Scots with a time of 18:27.7. Geoffrey Carney-Knisely ’18 finished shortly after, taking third place in a field of 20 competitors with a time of just over 18:30.1. Aidan Enright ’21 made a strong statement in his first collegiate race with a 18:33.9 on the day. Meanwhile, David Westcott ’19 and reigning 800-meter conference champion Brian Lief ’20 similarly headlined the pack in the men’s four-mile race with fourth- and fifth-place finishes of 21:46 and 21:49.9 out of the 38-man field. Jackson Feinknopf ’19 added an eighth-place showing of 22:07.1 to round off the most impressive finishes on the day.
On the women’s side, team captain Mackenzie Kellar ’18 was the Scot’s top finisher with a 10th place mark out of the 62 competitors, and has showed steady improvement over the years. Zoe Convey ’21 had a strong collegiate running debut as she was the Scots’ next finisher in a time of 16:19. Team captain Ashley Ferguson ’18 finished shortly after her for the third finish for the Scots, with a time of 16:35.1. Emma Busch ’21 and Cobi Warstler ’20 both posted top-30 finishes with times of 16:49 and 17:00.4. Finishing off the seven top finishers were Reaghan Beaver ’21 and Audrey Cordova ’20 in 17:41.3 and 17:50.3.
“The 2017 season is off to a great start today, and we are really excited about the potential of both the men’s and women’s programs,” said Head Coach Dennis Rice.
The Scots will not be competing this weekend and will get back into action next week at the Otterbein University Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16.