Goshen, IN — With a scrimmage at Anderson University completed and the official start to the regular season still a week away, the Goshen College men’s cross country team competed in the first annual Goshen Hokum Karem on Saturday, a unique event that pairs runners in a relay-style race in one-mile increments. According to head coach Doug Yoder, the Hokum Karem event is a perfect way to start the season and to get a feel for just where runners are at competitively.

“This type of event is a great way to see what condition your athletes are in,” Yoder said. “It’s a bit different from a normal meet, but it still provides a barometer. We were able to learn some things today about ourselves that we might not have in a different style race.”

Partnered with a selected teammate, runners take turns running in one mile increments while the other runner rests. When the first runner completes the first mile, he tags his partner for a second mile run. The twosome continue in this fashion until each has ran five miles, for a total 10 miles as a group.

For Goshen, the lack of team depth proved a difficult obstacle to overcome. The Leafs finished third in the team scoring out of four schools, but did manage to finish a pair in third place overall, as sophomores Nick Adkins and Jake Gillette teamed for a total time of 55:53.00, edging out the fourth place Bethel College twosome by almost 20 seconds.

Goshen’s second pair of junior Sam Moyer and freshman David Rumsey fought hard to take an eighth-place finish overall, ending the course in a time of 59:08.00.

“Jake Gillette and Nick Adkins are running strong right now,” Yoder said following the meet. “Others are fighting off injuries and we could prove to be a team for others to pay attention to once we heal. David Rumsey ran well again today. He is continuing to learn the longer distance race and as the season progresses will make an impact as one of our top three runners.”

Goshen’s final pair of junior Jason Young and freshman Nelson Kling also drew positive remarks from Yoder, finishing 13th overall in a time of 1:08.53.00.

“Nelson Kling had a very good day showing some consistency in his five miles,” Yoder said. “That’s a good sign of things to come.”

Huntington University took the team trophy with eight total points on the afternoon, followed by Bethel College with 20 points, Goshen with 21 and Grace with 29. Complete meet results, including individual pairs’ times and finish results, will be posted below in the upcoming days.

Goshen will next travel to Defiance for the Defiance College Invitational next Saturday for the squad’s first true regular season match of the year. Men’s meet time is slated to begin at 11 a.m.

Goshen College Hokum Karem Official Results
September 3, 2005

Men’s Results
5 x 1 mile x 2 persons

1 Huntington College 8
2 Bethel College 20
3 Goshen College 21
4 Grace College 29

Place Name School Place Time
1 Hannie/Johnson Huntington College 1 54:42
2 Milentis/Lindbloom Huntington College 2 54:54
3 Camilo/Camilo Unattached --- 55:21
4 Adkins/Gillette Goshen College 3 55:53
5 Ryan/Gray Bethel College 4 56:11
6 St.Louis/Lehman Huntington College 5 57:24
7 Drake/Jennys Grace College 6 57:58
8 Matteson/Matteson Bethel College 7 58:32
9 Furkis/Kagwanja Unattached --- 58:57
10 Rumsey/Moyer Goshen College 8 59:08
11 Paulus/Edwards Bethel College 9 59:23
12 Schaber/Barnett Huntington College --- 1:03:23
13 Bouwman/Onyango Goshen College 10 1:04:50
14 Robertson/Skattum Grace College 11 1:06:23
15 Kling/Young Goshen College --- 1:08:53
16 McGuire/Erichsen Grace College 12 1:12:38