FULL OAC RELEASE
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio – The Otterbein cross country programs each received a special award Thursday morning from the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) office, with the men's coaching staff and then senior
Claire Lamb on the women's side both being recognized.
Lamb (Granville/Granville) makes a rare piece of history with her fourth-straight OAC 'Runner of the Year' honor, becoming just the third student-athlete across any sport in the conference to receive that distinction every year. She now joins a short list that includes Ohio Northern's Allison Steinbrunner (cross country from 2009-12) and then Otterbein's Julie Stroyne (women's tennis from 2011-14).
Lamb delivered a magical senior year on the course, winning her first six races before just narrowly missing a national championship by taking runner-up status at Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne, Wisc. She ran 20:58 to finish three seconds behind the winner, still easily good enough to claim her second All-American honor.
Lamb beat the field by 47 seconds to win her third-straight OAC individual title this fall, and those efforts helped Otterbein capture its fourth-straight team title as a program. She also captured her fourth-straight All-Ohio crown, won the Pre-National Meet in October and then posted 20:58 to set a 6K course record at the Great Lakes Regional in Indiana. That afternoon saw her become the first Cardinal female to break the 21:00 barrier.
Lamb ends her cross country career with 15 victories and top-five performances in a whopping 24 of 28 races. She was a four-time national qualifier, ultimately turning in finishes of 43, 37, 22 and 2 on the big stage. Otterbein made back-to-back NCAA appearances as a team spanning 2017 and 2018, taking 23rd place this year.
The men's cross country program took a huge jump this fall, as fifth-year head coach
Dara Ford along with assistants
Thomas Bambach,
Heath Gibson,
Travis Jones,
Kyle Wagner and
Patrick Kunkel bringing home OAC 'Coaching Staff of the Year' honors.
The Cardinals finished third in the OAC last year as a team before hitting a new level this time around, winning the program's first league title since 2004 and then grabbing second place collectively at the Great Lakes Regional. Five individuals earned all-region status that day.
Otterbein won its first All-Ohio championship since 2005, took seventh at the Pre-National Meet and then made its first NCAA appearance since way back in 1995. The Cards dealt with early adversity as five of seven runners went down in an early-race spill, and the team eventually settled for a 28th-place finish.
The cross country programs will now regroup and hit the indoor track for winter season, which will pick up full swing in early January.
