FINAL RESULTS
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Members from both Otterbein cross country programs made another memory and gained some quality experience Friday morning at Notre Dame, competing against mostly Division I teams in the Joe Piane Invitational.
Otterbein and the University of Chicago were the only Division III teams in the field, lacing up against some quality higher-level programs around the nation. The Cardinals finished ahead of Central Michigan on the men's side.
The host Fighting Irish won both the Men's Gold/Blue 5 Mile sections while NC State and Akron finished atop the women's standings in those same categories.
MEN'S BREAKDOWN:
- Senior John Nice took 37th of 130 total runners in the five-mile format, running 25:07 to out-lean John Schuler of Notre Dame at the line.
- Payne Ratliff finished right around the middle of the closing pack, coming in 69th overall behind an effort of 25:46.
- Four more Cardinals came were bunched up together in the form of Garrett Miller, Cameron Christopher, Chase Jackson and Jay Figgins. All ran between 26:12 and 26:19 to land inside the Top 100.
- Ian Clevinger, Corey Raffery and Cody Moore rounded out the lineup in the gold section. A full six-pack of Otterbein runners took part in the "open" race at the event, with David Hartman leading that flock.
- Vincent Mauri (ND) took home the individual crown after holding off Michigan's Owen Mackenzie.
WOMEN'S BREAKDOWN:
- The Cards gained race reps against nice D1 competition as well, with Ragen Harting leading the charge at a 5K time of 19:41. She was four seconds ahead of a penguin from Youngstown State.
- Kat Wilt (19:48) was just a handful of paces back in the field of 161 individuals, as she also edged out a YSU runner by two seconds.
- Josey Johnson ran 19:58 while Abby Sidloski was just outside the 20:00 mark. Alyssa Mattis, Rachel Ziel and Kiersten Knell all shaped up the Otterbein lineup with times between 20:30 and 21:37 respectively.
- Mary Munga of Akron won the entire race, besting a runner from High Point by four seconds.
LOOKING AHEAD:
Another handful of Cardinals have stayed locally to compete in the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational, Friday evening at nearby Liberty Park in Powell. After that, Otterbein will have a week off before heading to Augustana for the annual Inter-Regional Invite.
