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North Manchester, IN — With the Mid-Central Conference Championships just a week away, the Goshen College men’s cross country team picked an opportune time to turn in one of the greatest team performances in program history, placing 10 runners under the 29-minute plateau en route to a third place finish at Saturday’s Manchester College Invitational.
Sophomore Ben Bouwman (25:50.0), senior Jake Gillette (26.15.0), junior David Rumsey (26:36.0), senior Nick Adkins (26:52.0), freshman Paul Versluis (27:27.0), sophomore Nick Bouwman (27:51.0), senior Randy Keener (28:19.0), sophomore John Tamirat (28:23.0), freshman Robert Hooley (28:41.0) and sophomore Andy Brubaker (28:58.0) all finished under 29 minutes Saturday, becoming the first 10-some in Goshen men’s cross country history to do so in the same meet. And while only the top five finishers accounted for Goshen’s 79 team points, Leafs’ head coach Doug Yoder knows how valuable the depth is heading into next week’s league championships.
“This was an outstanding showing, and it comes at the right time of the season,” Yoder said. “Finishing third was very good for us. Ben, Jake, David, Nick and Paul make up a solid first five for us. The really nice thing is that the others are not that far behind.”
Goshen’s depth was apparent in yet another flip-flop at the top of the team’s chart, as Ben Bouwman finished fifth overall — and first for the team — just a week after Gillette held team medalist honors (click here for article). Gillette took 10th place overall on Saturday, while Rumsey (20th), Adkins (23rd) and Versluis (31st) all followed with season-best times.
“Manchester’s course was very flat and, as a result, very fast,” Yoder said. “We knew this going in, and we trained especially hard going in to challenge ourselves. I’m hoping that this may have been a wake up call to us in regards to just how well we can do next week.”
Yoder’s squad fell only to fourth-ranked Cornerstone University (19 team points) and Denison University (59 points) on the afternoon. Corrnerstone’s Derek Scott set a new course record in winning the event — a time of 24:12.0 broke his old mark of 24:20.0 — while the Golden Eagles took the first three individual positions and eight of the first 11 slots.
“Cornerstone proved why they are the number four team in the nation,” Yoder said.
Goshen’s top five runners boasted a gap time of 1:23, while the Leafs’ second quintuplet posted a gap time of just 1:07.
“It’s hopeful that this momentum will carry through to the MCC meet and hopefully help us finish in the top half of our very tough conference,” Yoder said.
The Leafs made a stern statement to at least two of those teams on Saturday, defeating league archrival Bethel College (120 points) and the University of St. Francis, who failed to finish five runners. For a complete look at team and individual finishes at the Manchester Invitational, click here.
Goshen will now travel to Indianapolis for the MCC Championships on Saturday. The event is scheduled to take place on the campus of Butler University (Marian College is the designated host school). Race time for the men’s event is slated for 12:30 p.m.
Goshen Individual Results
Ben Bouwman (5th) — 25:50.0
Jake Gillette (10th) — 26:15.0
David Rumsey (20th) — 26:36.0
Nick Adkins (23rd) — 26:52.0
Paul Versluis (31st) — 27:27.0
Nick Bouwman (36th) — 27:51.0
Randy Keener (42nd) — 28:19.0
John Tamirat (46th) — 28:23.0
Robert Hooley (49th) — 28:41.0
Andy Brubaker (52nd) — 28:58.0
Ramadhan Onyango (56th) — 29:07.0
Jonathan Stuckey (68th) — 30:21.0
Max Wyse (73rd) — 30:41.0
Mark Miller (75th) — 30:57.0
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Junior David Rumsey