CROSS COUNTRY

The Huntington cross country program claimed both the men’s and women’s title at their own invitational Friday night as part of the 2021 HU Homecoming festivities.

On the men’s side, the 7th-ranked Foresters posted a perfect score by claiming the top five spots with junior Haile Stutzman pacing the pack of 56 runners by clocking in at 25:19. The HU monopoly saw Kent Yoder finish second in 25:35. Aaron Hendryx crossed the line next for Johnson’s crew in 26:31.

Austin Liepe and Elijah Chesterman wrapped up the hosts’ scoring by turning in a 26:43 and 26:57 respectively. Other posted times for Huntington included Matthew Hyter (9th, 27:43), Jonah Lemmon (10th, 27:48), Justin Edwards (29:34) and Isaac Combs (32:32).

Huntington finished with 15 points followed by Mount Vernon (62), Trine (79) and Indiana Tech (84). The field also included runners from Anderson, Brescia and Purdue Fort Wayne.

The No. 13 Forester women dominated their 5K by snagging three of the first four spots behind Shelby Christman who finished second in 19:06. Sydney Lambert wasn’t too far back in third in 19:17 while Abby Mays took fourth in 19:37.

Carmen Trier navigated the course in 20:29 good for 11th place while Emily Tedder made her way in 21:02 for 15th place. Other runners for HU included Olivia Von Gunten (18th, 21:27), Lauren Craig (21st, 21:55), Shaylynn Reyes (22:55), Lauren Marsh (23:42) and Morgann Hart (27:25).

Huntington finished with 35 points followed by Indiana Tech (53), Mount Vernon (60), Brescia (101), Anderson (115) and Trine (143). Three runners from Purdue Fort Wayne made up the field along with three unattached runners including former HU runner Hannah Wappes.

“It was nice for both teams to win on our home course,” said Lauren Davenport Johnson. “While the women were running on tired legs as we’ve been in a heavy block of training, I still thought we competed well.

“The men ran great tonight. I was happy to see them post a perfect score. Overall, this was a good race for both teams in preparation for hosting the conference meet next month. To be able to get on the course in a race scenario will serve us well.”

The Foresters have a few weeks off before competing in the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge on October 23.