CROSS COUNTRY

The Forester cross country program got off to a solid start Friday night at the Twilight Invitational on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan. The HU women, ranked 8th in the preseason poll, ran to a third place finish while the 22nd-ranked men’s squad took fourth.

On the women’s side, this fall marks the first season the race has been switched from a 5K to a 6K. HU tallied 111 points with only top-ranked Taylor, the defending national champions, and #10 IWU finishing ahead of them.

Abbey Gentz posted Huntington’s fastest time to take 13th in 23:30.10. Emily Tedder was one spot back in 14th with her time of 23:31.10. Molly Harding navigated the course in 23:41.00 for 16th place. Deann Fry came in next for Neideck’s crew in 24:32.10 for 32nd place. Rounding out HU’s top five was MacKenzie Brewer who ran a 24:43.70 for a 36th place finish. HU’s top five team time was 1:59.58.00.

Other finishers for Huntington included Shaylynn Reyes (56th – 25:39.80), Alyeska Linsley (60th – 25:49.70), Amelia Strzechowski (26:00.60), Lily Spaulding (26:38.30), Brielle Fehlmann (26:59.40), Morgann Hart (31:17.00) and Evelyn Sigler (31:17.30).

The top five team finishes included #1 Taylor claiming the title with 18 points followed by #10 IWU (87), #8 Huntington (111), #18 Indiana Tech (127) and #14 Grace (145).

The men’s race saw three Foresters finish in the top 20. Kent Yoder crossed the line first for HU in 25:24.30 for 14th place. Carter VanderMeer turned in a personal best with his time of 25:34.90 good for 17th place while Reece Gibson came in 20th in 25:40.10.

Austin Liepe finished 28th in 25:56.30. Jonah Lemmon posted a PR of 26:51.30 for 50th place. HU’s top five collectively finished in 2:09.26.90.

Other finishers for the Foresters included Isaac Combs (78th – 27:42.60*PR), Tyler Loucks (101st – 30:01.50*PR) and Gabriel King (32:18.00).

No. 3 IWU finished with 18 points to successfully defend the team title for the third straight year. Rounding out the top five included #15 Aquinas (71), #11 Taylor (109), #22 Huntington (129) and #RV Campbellsville (180).

“What a great start to our fall season,” said Coach Josh Neideck. “I’m very happy with the way both teams ran. We were very controlled and smart with Christ as our priority.

“We have plenty to improve on as we head into the bulk of our season. It’s always nice to see where we are and know what we can improve on.”

The Foresters will split up next weekend to compete in Taylor’s Ray Bullock Invitational and Columbia’s Larry Young Invitational.