CEDARVILLE, Ohio – Competing at the All-Ohio Invitational Friday afternoon, featuring teams from the Division I, II, III, and NAIA levels from across the state, the Ohio Dominican men's cross country team finished ninth out of the 12 Division II schools and the women placed ninth of 12 Division II schools.

Junior Michael Barber (New Franklin, Ohio) paced the men's squad with a time of 27:44.70, finishing 44th out of 87 runners. Junior Ethan Miller (Monclova, Ohio) following in at 28:06.10, marking a personal best for the young runner, while classmate junior Matt Richardson (Columbus, Ohio) finished with a mark of 28:49.55.

Also breaking the 30 minute barrier were freshmen Andrew Beier (Bellevue, Ohio), Patrick Ferguson (Austintown, Ohio), and sophomore Brendan Walburn (Hebron, Ohio) and Austin Kilgore (Pickerington, Ohio).

Competing in the open race, junior Jason Williams (Powell, Ohio) clocked in with a time of 29:19.10 while fellow junior Connor Callahan (Pataskala, Ohio) followed with a time of 29:58.90. Freshman Tyler Higgins (Middleburg Heights, Ohio) finished under the 30 minute mark with teammate senior Chris Liebold (Green Springs, Ohio).

On the women's side, sophomore Shakita Kabciek (Brook Park, Ohio) led the Panthers with a time of 25:10.83 and finished 33rd of 84 runners. Posting a personal best, senior Michelle McKean (Pataskala, Ohio) crossed the finish line with a time of 26:25.04. Junior Tara Walker (Lewis Center, Ohio) completed the course in a time of 26:44.55 while senior Mallory Kitts (Springfield, Ohio) clocked in at 26:56.08. Rounding out the Panther runners were junior Erin Miller (London, Ohio) and sophomore Amber Willeman (Napoleon, Ohio) with times of 26:58.95 and 27.14.46 respectively.

Running in the women's open race, sophomore Nicole Brown (Columbus, Ohio) ran a personal best of 26:19.61) while teammate freshman Morgan Bitzel (Hartville, Ohio) crossed with a time of 27:04.14.

Also finishing under the 30 minute mark was freshmen Lindsay Davis (Lewis Center, Ohio), Kyrsty Rider (Reynoldsburg, Ohio), and Hayley Knotsman (Dayton, Ohio).

ODU's cross country teams are back in action on October 18 at the Wilmington Fall Classic.

Contact: Sarah Twiggs
twiggss@ohiodominican.edu