AU Harriers Shine at 50th All-Ohio Cross Country Championships
October 8, 2004

By Paul Carmany, AU Sports Information

Today (Oct. 8) marked the 50th edition of the All-Ohio Cross Country Championships, contested over the undulating grounds of the Methodist Theological Seminary and the Dornoch Golf Course in Delaware, OH. On the meet’s golden anniversary, past individual champions, including AU alumni Oliver Grund and Nick Cordes, were honored.

Ashland senior Nate Iler nearly joined that select group this afternoon, running with the lead pack the entire way before finishing second overall behind Ohio State junior Brian Olinger. Iler’s frontrunning effort helped the AU men’s team to their second straight Division II/NAIA crown. The Eagles also took fifth place in the overall standings in a 39-team field. Ohio State took home the overall title.

The Eagle women used a pack technique, as their top five finishers came in within a 55 second span. Ashland’s effort was good enough for second behind Malone in the Division II/NAIA category. In the overall team competition, won by Kent State, AU placed seventh out of 39 teams.

Iler’s time of 25:51 made him just one of four individuals in the 267-member field to crack the 26-minute barrier on the challenging course. Sophomore Evan Thomas came in 16th in a time of 26:31. Paul Lang (46th place, 27:21), Bryan Ropp (57th, 27:39) and Wes Lewis (65th, 27:51) rounded out the top five for AU.

Jess Fleming, a junior, led the way for coach Bill Gallagher’s women’s squad. She finished 20th out of 270 runners in a time of 19:07. Fellow junior Erin Stauffer followed six places and nine seconds later. The rest of the Eagles’ top five finishers included Lisa Nell (45th, 19:37), Colleen Wurzer (59th, 19:53) and Miranda Forgac (71st, 20:02).

Both Ashland teams will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) meet hosted by Grand Valley State University.