Women's Cross Country wins Bluffton Invite in 2025 season opener
August 29, 2025
BLUFFTON — The Ohio Northern women's cross country team opened its 2025 campaign with a victory at the Bluffton Beaver Dam Invite on a cool Friday evening.
The Basics
- Record: Ohio Northern (2-0 Overall)
- Race Info: The event was a 5,000-meter race held at the Bluffton Nature Preserve Course.
- ONU placed 1st out of 3 collegiate varsity teams with 24 points.
Race Results
- Ohio Northern finished 1st of 3 with 24 points.
- Heidelberg was second with 73 points and Bluffton was third with 109 points.
- A team of ONU Alumni finished with 47 points.
Top ONU Performers
- Junior AnnaSophia Gower (Perrysburg) led ONU across the finish line, placing 2nd overall in the 49-woman field in 18:42.
- Senior Natalie Armbruster (Cinncinati/Mount Notre Dame) was 4th in 19:02.
- Senior Samantha Roth (Brunswick) was 5th in 19:12.
- Freshman Allison Woodruff (Arlington/Riverdale) was sixth in 19:15
- Senior Dani Widmark (Zanesfield/Benjamin Logan) was 7th in 19:24.
Notables
- This marks the third consecutive season that ONU has opened its campaign at Bluffton.
- The Polar Bears have now won back-to-back Bluffton Invite meets after finishing second in 2023.
- Gower's 18:42 moves her into a tie for 9th place all-time in ONU history for 5,000 meters.
- She trimmed 25 seconds off of her previous best time of 19:07.
- Armbruster moves into 18th place on ONU's 5,000-meter list with her PR of 19:02.
- 17th-year head coach Jason Maus is now 1,403-530 as head coach of the ONU women's cross country program and is the winningest coach in program history.
Up Next
- The Polar Bears will return to action on Sept. 13 at the Otterbein Invitational.
