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Lisle, IL — The calendar may have read October, but temperatures at this year’s Benedictine University Eagle Invitational made it feel more like July or August.
Still, despite the unusual conditions, the Goshen College men’s cross country team had another solid performance, capturing a third-place finish at the 21-team event, garnering a total 77 points behind North Central College (36 points) and St. Joseph’s College (44 points). The bronze finish came on the heels of the team’s championship at last week’s Bethel College Invitational (click here for related article), as Leafs’ head coach Doug Yoder is optimistic his team will be running in peak form come MCC Championships time in two weeks.
“This (third-place finish) was a good showing for us,” Yoder said. “If everything would have fallen into place we could have taken second place, but North Central was very, very good (finishing first). Several of our guys were affected by the heat, so times were a bit slower than what we’ve come to expect.”
Such was the case for sophomore Ben Bouwman, who ran in second place through approximately three-fourths of the race until falling back to a final sixth-place finish in a time of 28:03.3. That opened the door for senior Jake Gillette, who finished third overall — and first for Goshen for the second time this year — in a time of 27:53.1.
“Jake ran probably his smartest race of the year today,” Yoder said. “He was very patient at the beginning of the race where hills were a factor and later in the race made his move to end up third overall. Ben was having a really good run until the heat got to him.”
Temperatures in the mid- to upper-80’s made Benedictine’s hilly course an all-out chore, as only four of the total 133 runners eclipsed the 28-minute mark. Junior David Rumsey (13th overall, 28:29.8) and freshman Paul Versluis (25th overall, 29:23.2) were Goshen’s only other runners to break the 30-minute plateau. Goshen had nine runners hit that mark in last week’s Bethel meet.
Senior Nick Adkins came in as the Leafs’ fifth and final scoring runner on the afternoon, taking 35th place overall in a time of 30:08.1.
St. Joseph’s Naza Sanchez won individual medalist honors in a time of 27:02.2. For a complete list of team and individual results at the event, click here.
Goshen will next travel to Manchester College to participate in the Manchester College Invitational on Saturday. Meet time is set for 12 p.m. for the men’s race.
Goshen Individual Results
Jake Gillette (3rd) — 27:53.1
Ben Bouwman (6th) — 28:03.3
David Rumsey (13th) — 28:29.8
Paul Versluis (25th) — 29:23.2
Nick Adkins (35th) — 30:08.1
Dietrich Eitzen (38th) — 30:21.6
Nick Bouwman (45th) — 30:51.5
Randy Keener (47th) — 30:56.1
Robert Hooley (60th) — 31:37.2
Max Wyse (75th) — 32:32.3
Mark Miller (91st) — 33:28.1
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Senior Jake Gillette