North Manchester, IN — In its final intercollegiate competition before the Mid-Central Conference Championships next week, the Goshen College men’s cross country team finished 10th out of 10 teams at Saturday’s Manchester College Invitational. While the Leafs’ top three runners dropped their respective times from last week’s Benedictine University Eagle Invitational, it was not as promising of a team result as head coach Doug Yoder had hoped for.

“With the young and inexperienced squad that we have, it was apparent Saturday that we’re still learning how to race,” Yoder said. “The ability is there, we just have to learn how to best use that ability.”

Goshen churned up 220 team points to finish in the final slot, as MCC foe Marian College won the event with 67 points. Sophomore Nick Adkins again paced the Leafs’ effort, finishing seventh overall in a time of 26:25, nearly 30 seconds quicker than his pace one week ago.

“Nick again ran a very competitive race,” Yoder said. “As a sophomore, he is still learning the nuances of picking his spots. He will continue to get better as he gets older.”

Classmate Jake Gillette continued his stronghold as Goshen’s second-best runner, finishing 28th overall in a time of 27:21. Freshman David Rumsey was next in line, finishing 63rd in a 29:13 clip. Junior Alex Bouwman made an impressive move-up to the Leafs’ fourth position, taking 72nd overall in a time of 29:34.

“Alex Bouwman is improving every week after a long battle with the flu that had set him back several weeks,” Yoder said. “He is on pace to have his best time by the MCC (championships).”

Sophomore Ramadhan Onyango (78th overall, 29:58) and junior Sam Moyer (86th overall, 30:45) rounded off the top six for Yoder’s squad, each finishing within a second of their respective times from one week earlier.

Following Marian in the final team results were Wabash College (89 points), Cornerstone University (100), Huntington University (105), Kalamazoo College (118), Manchester (148), Tri-State University (150), Franklin College (185) and the University of St. Francis (203). Michael Kuria of Marian won the individual championship, finishing first in a time of 25:22.

Goshen will next compete in the MCC Championships at Huntington on Saturday, with the men’s race time set to begin at 12:30 p.m. Pending the results of that event, individual runners or the Leafs’ entire team could be eligible for NAIA Regional competition.

“We’re looking forward to the conference meet, with realistic hopes of finishing in the middle of the mix this year,” Yoder said. “That will set us up for next year to build up to the upper half of the conference.”

Goshen Individual Results
Nick Adkins (7th) — 26:25
Jake Gillette (28th) — 27:21
David Rumsey (63rd) — 29:13
Alex Bouwman (72nd) — 29:34
Ramadhan Onyango (78th) — 29:58
Sam Moyer (86th) — 30:45
Aaron Aeschilman (89th) — 31:06
Nelson Kling (102nd) — 32:58
Jason Young (105th) — 37:06
Lucas Vachon (106th) — 39:14