Final Results
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DELAWARE, Ohio – The Otterbein women's cross country team defended its Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) crown in narrow fashion Saturday morning, outlasting John Carroll University on a sixth-runner tiebreaker to win the league meet held at Columbus State Community College.

Otterbein, ranked 18th in the latest national poll, and John Carroll both finished the race with 46 points after the top-five runners crossed on each side. The tiebreaker went to the No. 6 finishers on each side, with Cardinal senior Julissa Poullet finishing two spots ahead of John Carroll's Christine Smith.

"We didn't necessarily run our best today, but did just enough to defend the title," head coach Dara Ford said proudly. "It was a great battle between us and John Carroll. I give them credit because they also ran a heck of a race."

Sophomore Claire Lamb had herself a memorable day, racing to the individual title by covering the course in 21:57.5, almost 10 seconds ahead of the 125-runner field. She finished second at last year's meet and now repeats as a first team All-OAC honoree, as the top-nine placers earn first-team recognition and runners 10-18 garner second team.

Otterbein landed two more first team All-OAC runners, with senior Alex Winter finishing fourth in 22:14.9 and sophomore Heather Sandvik in eighth with a result of 22:25.4. Winter finishes as a three-time All-OAC performer.

"It was great for Claire to get the win after being runner-up a year ago, and it was also awesome for Alex to race so well in her last conference outing. Repeating isn't easy in this league, so we are certainly happy to walk away with the victory."

A pair of sophomores rounded out the Otterbein top-5 as Kira Judd (22:56.2) and Katy Foltz (22:57.5) landed 16th and 17th, respectively, to attract second team All-OAC.

Poullet's 20th-place finish wound up being the difference maker, as she sprinted down the stretch to a time of 23:16.5 that ultimately allowed the Cards to retain their trophy. Freshman Allison Currey was just behind in 21^st, covering the course in 23:17.4.

Otterbein will now look to carry its momentum towards the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, taking place on Saturday, Nov. 12 at Hope College in Michigan.