|
Defiance, OH — With a key upperclassman fighting through pain and another top runner missing Saturday’s Defiance College Invitational altogether, the Goshen College men’s cross country team put up an impressive finish, taking third place in the six-team event.
With sophomore Dietrich Eitzen out and senior Nick Adkins a shadow of his usual self, Leafs’ head coach Doug Yoder turned to his youth movement, as three of Goshen’s top five — and scoring — runners were underclassmen. Sophomore Ben Bouwman led that push, finishing first for Goshen and second overall in a time of 28:31.99, just under 28 seconds off his career-opening time from last year’s Defiance Invite (click here for article).
Goshen’s next four runners carded the sixth, 21st, 22nd and 27th-place slots, giving the Leafs a gap time of 2:18, nowhere near its spread clip of 1:06 in last season’s event but good enough considering the circumstances, at least according to Yoder.
“This was a good showing for us coming in third against two quality programs,” Yoder said. “Our gap time may not have been as close as it was last year for our top five runners, but our entire team showed patience and demonstrated how close they are, from top to bottom, in times. With Dietrich Eitzen not running today because of injury some of the younger and inexperienced runners picked up the pace.”
Goshen carded 67 total points at the event, falling to champion Heidelberg College (37 points) and Tri-State University (45 points). Senior Jake Gillette did all he could to help the Leafs’ effort, finishing sixth overall in a time of 28:39.76, running literally neck-and-neck with Bouwman until the finish.
“Ben Bouwman coming in second was and outstanding effort, as was Jake’s sixth-place performance,” Yoder said. “Ben and Jake both led the race for the middle two miles.”
Junior David Rumsey (21st overall, 30:01.96), sophomore Nick Bouwman (22nd, 30:07.67) and freshman Paul Versluis (27th, 30:49.77) completed Goshen’s scoring. Adkins, who finished fifth overall and first for the squad at last year’s Defiance Invite in a time of 27:59.1, took home 28th-place in a 30:54.42 clip.
Excluding the Leafs’ top two finishers on Saturday, the team posted a gap time of 5:15 from runners three through 11, an impressive number showcasing the team’s complete depth.
The University of Findlay’s Kendall Simon captured individual medalist honors at the meet, finishing first overall in a time of 28:26.29. Collectively, Findlay finished fourth with 78 team points, followed by Defiance (161 points) and Bluffton University (169). Sixty-nine total athletes competed in the event. For a complete look at team and individual scoring, click here.
Goshen will next compete in its largest meet of the season — the Indiana Intercollegiates — Friday at Purdue University. Meet time is slated for 5:30 p.m.
Goshen Individual Results
Ben Bouwman (2nd) — 28:31.99
Jake Gillette (6th) — 28:39.76
David Rumsey (21st) — 30:01.96
Nick Bouwman (22nd) — 30:07.67
Paul Versluis (27th) — 30:49.77
Nick Adkins (28th) — 30:54.42
John Tamirat (29th) — 31:00.62
Andy Brubaker (36th) — 31:55.36
Robert Hooley (39th) — 32:08.22
Randy Keener (40th) — 32:08.83
Max Wyse (42nd) — 32:31.61
Jonathan Stuckey (56th) — 35:09.69
Mark Miller (57th) — 35:16.89
|
Sophomore Ben Bouwman