Marion, IN — For most cross country athletes, a cool, dry, still day makes for the best possible conditions to run in.

Saturday at the 2006 Mid-Central Conference Championships, conditions were exactly the opposite.

A cold, wet and windy afternoon painted the picture at Indiana Wesleyan University, as Goshen trudged to a sixth-place conference finish behind much slower times than usual. Freshman Ben Bouwman was first to cross the finish line for the Leafs in 27:22 — and 18th overall — the only Goshen athlete to post a better time than at last week’s Manchester College Invitational (click here for article).

“The course was wet and it was very windy, so all the times of all the competitors were slower than would normally be expected,” said Doug Yoder, Goshen head coach. “We had seven guys under 30 minutes and had a goal of having 10 or 12 under that mark.”

Freshman Dietrich Eitzen — who did not run in last week’s event — finished second for the squad in a time of 27:52, his highest team-finish in his young career. Junior Nick Adkins, who has claimed Goshen’s top spot throughout much of the last three seasons, finished third inner-squad and 28th overall in a time of 28:01, fighting through soreness all of last week. Classmate Jake Gillette placed two spots behind Adkins in a time of 28:04, while freshman Nick Bouwman rounded off Goshen’s scoring in finishing 51st in a clip of 28:56.

“Dietrich Eitzen has continued to improve every week,” Yoder said. “He should feel very good about finishing in the number two spot for the team.”

The Leafs finished with a gap time of just 1:34 in the squad’s top five, including a gap time of just 1:59 for the team’s top seven (sophomore David Rumsey finished 56th overall in 29:03 and junior Ramadhan Onyango took 59th overall in 29:21). Yoder said the team’s goal is for an under two-minute gap time for his first five runners.

Goshen’s 145 team points were better than Grace College (198), Bethel College (202) and the University of St. Francis (247). Indiana Wesleyan University won the team event, garnering just 49 points and taking six of the top 17 positions.

Marian College’s Antony Kariuki won the individual championship, finishing in a time of 25:57. Ninety athletes competed in the event.

Goshen will take a week off before preparing for the NAIA Region VIII Championships on Saturday, Nov. 4, when the team will return to Indiana Wesleyan’s course for another race. Yoder said quite a few members of his team are excited about that second opportunity.

“We are really looking forward to trying to reach our goal of (having 10 to 12 runners under) the 30 minute mark,” Yoder said. “We are looking forward to returning to this Indiana Wesleyan course on Nov. 4 and reaching that goal. It will be good to have two weeks to prepare for that meet.”

Goshen Individual Results
Ben Bouwman (18th) — 27:22
Dietrich Eitzen (24th) — 27:52
Nick Adkins (28th) — 28:01
Jake Gillette (30th) — 28:04
Nick Bouwman (51st) — 28:56
David Rumsey (56th) — 29:03
Ramadhan Onyango (59th) — 29:21
Alex Bouwman (74th) — 30:29
Michael Amos (76th) — 30:42
Sam Moyer (79th) — 31:19
Jonathan Stuckey (82nd) — 32:23
Nelson Kling (86th) — 33:57
Daniel Merkt Blatz (88th) — 34:26
Brent Handfield (89th) — 39:35