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Marion, IN — A young team full of promise is now forced to look
to the future, as the Goshen College men’s cross country team finished
ninth overall at Saturday’s NAIA Region VIII Championships, concluding
its season in the process.
Freshman Ben Bouwman led the charge for the Leafs, finishing
33rd overall in a time of 26:38 in the 126-man race. Junior
Jake Gillette was second in line, claiming 47th place in 27:20,
while freshman Dietrich
Eitzen finished in 66th place (27:44) for the Leafs third scoring
runner.
On the day, Goshen posted a gap time of just 1:06 for its first
three runners and 1:34 for its first five. Head coach Doug Yoder said that
while that is a positive, he’d like to see the entire group finish
with quicker paces next fall. The team loses only three seniors in Michael
Amos, Alex Bouwman and Sam Moyer.
“Our men’s team did a good job overall at the regional meet,” Yoder
said Saturday. “We had hoped for a higher placing, but the bright
side is that most everyone is back next year and we will be
improved.”
Yoder can only hope that illness doesn’t hamper his squad in 2007
as it has in the past few weeks, as several runners performed well below
their own personal standards Saturday. Regular ace and junior Nick Adkins
was a shadow of himself finishing sixth for the team and 83rd overall in
a time of 28:21. Adkins ran a 26:41 clip in last year’s regional
meet, claiming a 21st place finish.
“We have been dealing with colds and flu the past two weeks
so we felt like we performed well under those circumstances,” Yoder
said.
Ben Bouwman’s team-leading effort was a collegiate personal best
for the first-year runner, as sophomore David Rumsey was the final scoring
runner for Goshen, finishing 68th overall in a time of 27:48.
Goshen’s 249 total team points was better than Mid-Central Conference
foes Bethel College (291 points), Grace College (300 points)
and the University of St. Francis (348 points). Aquinas College
won the team championship,
garnering just 36 points on the day. Marian College’s Antony Kariuki
won the individual title in a time of 24:53. For a composite look at both
team and individual finishes for the NAIA Region VIII Championships,
click here.
“Ben Bouwman had another great race for us leading the team
with a personal-best time,” Yoder said. “(Freshman) Nick Bouwman
(76th overall, 28:12) and Dietrich Eitzen also had personal-best
times. It is encouraging to see the freshmen come through at the end of
the season.
We will have high expectations for our returning athletes next
year.”
Check back to this website for off-season updates and recruiting
news. To contact Doug Yoder, call him at (574) 535-7495 or click here to
send him an email.
Goshen Individual Results
Ben Bouwman (33rd) — 26:38
Jake Gillette (47th) — 27:20
Dietrich Eitzen (66th) — 27:44
David Rumsey (68th) — 27:48
Nick Bouwman (76th) — 28:12
Nick Adkins (83rd) — 28:21
Ramadhan Onyango (97th) — 29:22
Michael Amos (103rd) — 29:31
Alex Bouwman (108th) — 30:28
Sam Moyer (79th) — 31:19
Jonathan Stuckey (113th) — 30:42
Sam Moyer (116th) — 31:39
Mark Miller (119th) — 33:20
Nelson Kling (121st) — 34:21
Daniel Merkt Blatz (122nd) — 35:37
Brent Handfield (123rd) — 36:19
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  Freshman
Ben Bouwman
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