Eagle Men, Women Continue Strong Early Start At All-Ohio Classic

Ashland University's men's and women's cross country teams competed at the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Classic at Cedarville on Friday (Sept. 18) night, and each finished in third place in their respective NCAA Division II/NAIA categories.
 
Fifth-year Braeden Geist turned in the best time in the D-II/NAIA men's 8K division, crossing the finish line in 25:09.1 – the second-best time for all men's runners on Friday night.
 
Ashland also boasted two other top-10 placers in D-II/NAIA – juniors Isaiah Lanoy (fifth, 25:36.9) and Wes Taylor (eighth, 25:47.9).
 
Rounding out the Eagle men's top five were sophomore Samuel Thomas (20^th, 26:31.3) and senior Huck Finnegan (39^th, 27:11.8).
 
In the D-II/NAIA team standings, Ashland was third with 65 points – trailing only first-place Walsh (37) and second-place Malone (60).
 
The women's 6K race saw sophomore Ava Parrett take third place in D-II/NAIA in a PR of 22:35.5. Senior Molly Coleman gave AU two runners in the top five in the division, as she was fifth in 22:52.2.
 
Sophomore Zuri Immel was 15^th in a PR of 23:42.2, sophomore Madilyn Elson also PRed in a 25^th-place ending of 24:08.7, and senior Amandine Binet was 32^nd in 24:28.8.
 
The Eagle women also were third as a team in D-II/NAIA with 60 team points, behind only first-place Cedarville (23) and second-place Walsh (59).
 
Friday's meet was the first of three weeks in a row of action for the Eagle men and women, who will compete at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Preview Meet at 6 p.m. on Sept. 25 at Tiffin.