The cross-country men won their race, while the women placed third in the NAIA Mid-States Classic.
Sophomore David Mountford finished first in NAIA men’s cross country with a second-overall placing, and sophomore Sara Moore provided OCU’s 18th-ranked women with a fourth-overall placing.
The Stars had six men in the top 10 finishes, and turned in only 20 total points and an average time of 25 minutes, 3.66 seconds in the 8,000-meter race.
Mountford finished placed first with a time of 24:44.40, and junior Peter Koskey placed third with a time of 24:55.
Junior Arya Bahreini placed fourth with a time of 24:59.70, freshmen Csaba Matko placed fifth with a time of 25:12.80 and sophomore Mackenzie Wahpepah-Harris placed sixth with a time of 25:26.40.
Other Stars’ finishes were senior Kyle Wardwell with a time of 25:50.40, freshman Michael Vercoe-Curtis with a time of 25:57.10 and junior Reno Blum with a time of 26:13.60.
“I thought the men ran like a defending national championship program today,” OCU coach Conor Holt said. “We have a number of individuals that are on the cusp of some great performances and just need a little lady luck with the weather and energy.
The Stars also had three women in the top 25.
Moore led the Stars with a time of 19:09 in the 5K, and junior Rileigh Darby-McClure came in next with a time of 19:00.70, which put the team at 18th.
Junior Kaitlin Pontikes finished with a time of 19:12.40, senior Raechel Brown had a time of 19:24.80, freshman Taylor Harrill recorded a time of 19:26.60 and sophomore Madeline Boehlke finished with a time of 19:31.60.
Oklahoma Baptist University took first in the women’s team standings.
“I thought the women ran well,” Holt said. “Now we have two weeks to fine tune everything so we can have a complete 5K, and contend for an at large bid to the national championship.”
The next race in the Sooner Athletic Conference Championships is Nov. 8 in Shawnee, Okla.
“Two weeks from conference and four weeks from nationals,” Holt said. “We now move into the championship portion of the season, which is always my most favorite time of
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