No. 16 Women's Cross Country takes second-straight OAC title; Steinbrunner repeats as OAC Individual Champ
LIMA — Finishing 36 points ahead of the rest of the pack, the Ohio Northern women's cross country team took its second-straight conference championship title with a first-place finish at the 2011 OAC Cross Country Championships, held at Lost Creek Golfers Club on Saturday morning.
Despite a 30 minute delay due to frost, the Polar Bears stayed hot finishing with 35 points. John Carroll came in second with 71 points, followed by Wilmington in third with 102 points.
Rounding out the top five team finishes were Baldwin-Wallace (106) and Mount Union (132) in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
"The women ran very well. We wanted to get out and control the race early and that's what we did," head coach Jason Maus commented. "It was a pretty typical race for us now we have to step it up for regionals."
For the third-straight season, junior Alison Steinbrunner earned the OAC Individual title, finishing 21 seconds ahead of the next racer to finish in 22:15.9.
Fellow junior Lydia Weaver also had a stellar performance, finishing sixth overall in 22:55.8. Freshman Shayla Siefker made her mark in her first championship race finishing eighth overall in 23:02.4 with senior Ashley Baumer right on her heals in ninth place in 23:02.8.
As for the rest of the field, Marietta senior Reba Leonard finished second overall in 22:36.5, followed by Wilmington junior Annie Cekada in 22:42.4.
Capital junior Emma McCarron crossed the finish line in 22:47 for fourth place and John Carroll sophomore Gabriella Kreuz finished fifth in 22:51.7.
Steinbrunner, Weaver, Siefker and Baumer also took First Team All-OAC laurels, while senior Kelly Casanova earned Second Team honors after finishing 11th overall in 23:07.8.
Northern now focuses on the NCAA Great Lakes Regional event, hosted by Oberlin at the Oberlin College Woodchip Trail on Nov. 12. That race is set for an 11 a.m. start.
"We are really excited about the regional meet. We have to continue to run together and get that upfront presence," Maus said. "We'll have to run a little bit better than we did today but I think we're in a pretty good position."
Team Finishes
1. Ohio Northern, 35; 2. John Carroll, 71; 3. Wilmington, 102; 4. Baldwin-Wallace, 106; 5. Mount Union, 132; 6. Otterbein, 141; 7. Heidelberg, 214; 8. Marietta, 215; 9. Capital, 235; 10. Muskingum, 272
Top 5 Finishers
1. Alison Steinbrunner (ONU), 22:15.9; 2. Reba Leonard (MAR), 22:36.5; 3. Annie Cekada (WIL), 22:42.4; 4. Emma McCarron (CAP), 22:47.3; 5. Gabriella Kreuz (JCU), 22:51.7
Top 5 ONU Finishers
1. Alison Steinbrunner, 22:15.9; 6. Lydia Weaver, 22:55.8; 8. Shayla Siefker, 23:02.4; 9. Ashley Baumer, 23:02.8; 11. Kelly Casanova, 23:07.8