CEDARVILLE - Junior Payne Ratliff finished third among NCAA Division III runners and 14th overall among all divisions to lead the Otterbein men's cross country team to a strong showing at the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Classic on Friday evening. The Cardinals finished as the runner-up in the Division III standings and sixth overall.

The Basics

• The event was an 8K race held at Elvin R. King Cross Country Course in Cedarville, Ohio.
• The meet consisted of a mix of NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and club teams.
• The meet was scored in four categories: Division I, Division II/NAIA, Division III and overall.

Race Results

• In the overall standings, the Cardinals scored 182 points and placed sixth of 26 teams.
• In the Division III standings, Otterbein scored 71 points and placed second of 14 teams.
• Overall, NAIA Rio Grande was first with 69 points, followed by NCAA Division II Cedarville with 108 points.
• In Division III, Case Western finished atop the team standings with 52 points, and Ohio Northern was third with 91 points.
• The Cardinals had two runners post personal-best times.
• Unattached runner Simon Heys was first overall in 24:23. Wilmington's Noah Tobin was first in Division III in 24:38.
• Full Results

Top Otterbein Performers

• The Cardinals had seven runners finish in the top 104 overall in the 432-man field. 
• Ratliff placed 14th overall and third among DIII in 25:45.
• Junior Chase Jackson placed 33rd overall and 10th among DIII in 26:17. 
• Freshman Tucker See placed 45th overall and 16th among DIII in 26:24. 
• Sophomore Mitch Green placed 47th overall and 17th among DIII in 26:26. 
• Junior David Hartman placed 79th overall and 25th among DIII in 26:53. 
• Sophomore Brady Pugh placed 81st overall and 27th among DIII in 26:54
• Sophomore Caleb Rafferty placed 104th overall and 37th among DIII in 27:10.

Quote

• Junior Payne Ratliff: "Today's race was a really important building block and starting point for the season given the conditions. Definitely not where I want to be at the end of the season, but it was a great experience to get back into the 8K distance."

Notables

• Otterbein has finished in the top two of the Division III standings of the All-Ohio meet in each of the past six years.
• Hartman and Pugh both posted personal-best times for an 8K race. 
• Ratliff improved from 46th place (19th in Division III) in 25:58 in last year's All-Ohio meet to 14th (3rd in Division III) on Friday.