The 2014 Ohio Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships
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the 2014 ohio athletic conference cross country championships hosted by john carroll university saturday, november 1 • gilmour academy • gates mills, ohio EVENT INFORMATION For the first time since 2007, John Carroll University will serve as the host institution of the Ohio Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships. Gilmour Academy, a college-preparatory school located in Gates Mills, Ohio, is the host site for the 2014 OAC Cross Country Championship. The men’s 8,000-meter championship race will be conducted at 11:00 a.m., and the women’s 6,000-meter champi- onship race will begin at 12:00 noon. Meet Information Results: will be posted by Finishtiming.com http://finishtiming.com/meet_details.php?uniqueid=5411C6E2589 Awards: Ceremony will be held near finish line at approximately 1:00 pm. Awards include Team Champion trophies, and 1st & 2nd team All-OAC recognition (Places 1-9 = first team / 10-18 = second team). Photos: Pictures will be posted 24-48 hours after the conclusion of the meet at www.jcusports.com. Video: Video will be posted 24-48 hours after the conclusion of the meet at www.jcusports.com. about the oac In all of college athletics, only three conferences are over 100 years old. Only three leagues had the vision and foresight to be organized before the NCAA itself came into existence. The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) is one of those three. It began in 1902 with the major focus on the welfare of the student-athlete. Over one hundred years later, that focus has never wavered. And while maintaining the priority that “student” always comes before “athlete,” the OAC charges into 2014 on the heels of another banner year athletically. The OAC is predated only by the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1888) and the Big Ten (1895). The Conference is older than the Rose Bowl, the World Series and has survived two world wars, the Great Depression, the Korean War and the Vietnam Conflict. From a modest beginning of six charter members in 1902, the OAC grew to as many as 23 members in the mid-1920s. Through the years a total of 31 colleges and universities at one time or another have been members of the OAC. Currently the Conference consists of 10 members, including Baldwin Wallace University, Capital University, Heidelberg University, John Carroll University, Marietta College, University of Mount Union, Muskingum University, Ohio Northern University, Otterbein University and Wilmington College. In the OAC’s first year of existence, 1902, the first Conference champion was crowned — Case Tech won the football title with a 5-0-0 record. Outdoor track was added a year later and a third sport, cross country, became a Conference sport in 1914. More sports were steadily added to the OAC’s repertoire throughout the years, culminating with the addition of women’s sports in 1984. The Conference currently sponsors championships in 23 sports, 12 men’s and 11 women’s. The enrollments at the 10 OAC institutions range from 1,100 to 4,500. All of the schools were founded in the 19th century and have long and outstanding academic reputations. While maintaining these high academic standards, Ohio Athletic Conference athletic teams and athletes have consistently enjoyed a great deal of success on a regional and national level. The athletic competition is viewed not as an end in itself, but as an extension of the educational programs. MEN’S RACE PREVIEW The difficulty in analyzing the 2014 Ohio Athletic Conference cross country scene is not so much who is running, but rather who is not. All the top teams have been dealing with injury issues to key runners, so whatever prognostication that can be culled from the numbers may become moot given who will be running and will not. As the teams get set to blaze across the 8,000-meter course traversing the grounds of Gilmour Academy, here is a quick look at who to watch for in this year’s championship race: Sophomore Brian Brennan has been coming on strong in the latter half of the season and could be a factor for Baldwin Wallace University. The Yellow Jackets will rely on freshman Brady Jeffers to push the pace as well. Freshman Derek Knabe had a strong showing at the All-Ohio for Capital University, and will be counted on to lead a young Crusaders squad (no juniors or seniors on the roster) in this year’s championships. Speaking of youth, Heidelberg University has been paced by freshmen as well. The Student Princes had a great showing at the All-Ohio, placing ninth behind the good work of Dylan Dombi, Isaac Kuntz and Nick Jones -- all of whom are collegiate rookies. Host John Carroll University is the OAC’s top ranked team in the region, entering this weekend ranked third in the Great Lakes. 2013 All-OAC runner Tadhg Karski (placed 4th) leads a deep squad that also features junior Patrick O’Brien (13th in the OAC in 2013). Elliot Thorkelson, David Cremi and Gus Kazek were all top 25 finishers at the All-Ohio this season – a meet that John Carroll captured for the first time in program his- tory Marietta College is always in the market looking for the next Caleb Mueller. Freshman Andrew Millburn is off to a strong start in that direction with a strong showing at the All-Ohio. The Pioneers also have David Benczkowski and Caleb McGuire to chase down valuable points. The University of Mount Union is the defending league champion and is currently 4th in the region. The Purple Raiders appear to have the pieces to make another run at a title, led by 2013 OAC medalist Alex Wil- son and 2013 OAC runner-up/2013 OAC Runner of the Year Dan McCreary. Dylan Garitano and Matt O’Neil also have all-conference pedigree. Muskingum University is on the whole a young squad, but two seniors are leading by example, Tim Fries and Ryan Dodd both earned top 60 showings at the All-Ohio Championships in early October. Ohio Northern University was the conference runner-up last season and feature one of the favorites to earn medalist honors in Nathan Rosenbaum. Last season, he was the third place finisher at the conference meet and this year was the All-Ohio runner-up. The Polar Bears lost two All-OAC runners to graduation, but Kase Schalois and Andrew Harden look ready to step up to that level. Joey Montoya, the Cardinals’ top runner at the All-Ohio and Jenna Strong, has done his best to establish himself as the number one runner for Otterbein University, but first-year head coach Dara Ford’s team has been known for different people stepping up each week. So keep an eye on the likes of Denton Thompson, Amir Askari and Richie Gopel as well. Wilmington College will serve as the host school for the regional and national championship this sea- son, and the Quakers would dearly love to have some runners in the field. Senior Jake Simpkins was Wilming- ton’s top runner at the All-Ohio, with sophomore Tommy Looby and junior Dominic King not far behind. MEN’S COURSE MAP - 8k The tEAMS OAC MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS BALDWIN WALLACE UNIVERSITY Head Coach: Dr. William Taraschke Assistant Coaches: Kevin Phipps Bib # Name Year Hometown/High School Greg Blevins Sr. Mentor, OH / Mentor 5141 Brian Brennan So. Akron, OH / Walsh Jesuit 5142 Seth Duncan So. North Olmsted, OH / North Olmsted 5143 Alex Fuhrmann Jr. Painesville, OH / Riverside 5144 Brady Jeffers Fr. South Amherst, OH / Firelands 5145 Aaron Long Jr. Mishawaka, IN / Penn Mike Miller Jr. Strongsville, OH / Strongsville 5146 Evan Milovich Fr. Westlake, OH / Westlake 5147 Tate Stoll So. Norwalk, OH / Western Reserve 5148 Justin Swords Fr. Brunswick, OH / Brunswick 5149 Dylan Tanner Fr. Mentor, OH / Mentor 5150 Jason Young Jr. Parma, OH / Normandy CAPITAL UNIVERSITY Head Coach: Kunle Lawson Assistant Coaches: Ben Herbert, Kaila Cramer, Alex Koksal Bib # Name Year Hometown/High School 5151 Aaron Fox Fr. Commerical Point, OH / Teays Valley 5152 Derek Knabe Fr. Cincinnati, OH / Oak Hills 5153 Bailey McBeth Fr. New Philadelphia, OH / Indian Valley 5154 Kaleb Perez So. Woodville, OH / Woodmore 5155 Andrew Stroh So. Hilliard, OH / Hilliard Davidson HEIDELBERG UNIVERSITY Head Coach: Ron Martin Assistant Coaches: Brian Grime, Marcas Hietkamp, Marian Bevington, Victoria Chatman Bib # Name Year Hometown / High School 5156 Garry Armstrong Fr. Bowling Green, OH / Ostego Brad Bannister Fr. Tiffin, OH / Old Fort Jacob Berryman Jr. Fremont, OH / Fremont Ross 5157 David Brauer So. Pleasant Hill, OH / Newton Local The tEAMS OAC MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS 5158 Devaun Churchya So. Fremont, OH / Fremont Ross 5159 Nick Dawson Fr. Rocky River, OH / Rocky River 5160 Dylan Dombi Fr. Medina, OH / Medina 5161 Tim Faiken Fr. Peninsula, OH / Woodridge Matt Fee Fr. Mannsville, NY / South Jefferson Center 5162 Zach Flint Jr. Delaware, OH / Delaware Hayes 5163 Dominic Frey Fr. Wauseon, OH / Pettisville 5164 Aaron Hellman Fr. Delphos, OH / St. John’s 5165 Sean Humphreys Fr. West Carrollton, OH / West Carrollton 5166 Nick Jones Fr. Delta, OH / Delta 5167 Isaac Kuntz Fr. New Knoxville, OH / New Knoxville 5168 Brandon McNeil Jr. Springfield, OH / Greenon 5169 Justin Mourguet Fr. Wauseon, OH / Wauseon 5170 Jesse Rudolph So. Medina, OH / Medina 5171 Matt Tussing Jr. Jackson Center, OH / Jackson Center 5172 Cameron Weaks Fr. Napoleon, OH / Liberty Center JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY Head Coach: Kyle Basista Assistant Coaches: Jake Alexander, Bobby Over Bib # Name Year Hometown/High School 5173 Matt Andrews Fr. Twinsburg, OH / Twinsburg 5174 Justin Benzino So. Buffalo, NY / St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute Rollin Bresso Fr.