Scots at Highly-Competitive Otterbein Invite This Saturday

Suzanne Capehart

Following a week off from competition, The College of Wooster cross country teams will take part in their largest 2008 meet to date this Saturday, Sept. 27, as the Fighting Scots are slated to be one of about 20 schools from across the Great Lakes Region at the Otterbein Invitational. The reason for the big field is that Otterbein College will also host the NCAA regional on Nov. 15, so teams are getting a preview of the course. Saturday’s meet will begin with the men’s 8K at 11 a.m. and the women’s 6K run is scheduled to start an hour later. 

Last Meet: On Sept. 13, Wooster’s harriers ran very well in soggy conditions, as the Scot men’s team won the 1st annual Ric Sayre Invitational, hosted by Walsh University in nearby Canton, Ohio, and the women came in third in the four-team field.

With five runners in the top-10 individually, Wooster tallied 27 points in the men’s 8K event, edging the runner-up, Walsh (30), while also running were John Carroll University (84), and Ohio Dominican University (111). Senior Mark DeWine (Cedarville, Ohio / Bishop O’Connell – Va.) paced the Scots, finishing second overall with a time of 26:33, just 13 seconds back of Walsh’s Mike Groholy (26:20). Right behind DeWine was junior Terry Workman (Hillsboro, Ohio / Greenfield McClain) in third (26:38), while freshman Micah Caunter (Mayfield Village, Ohio / Mayfield) crossed fifth (27:34), junior Rick Workman (Hillsboro, Ohio / Greenfield McClain) seventh (27:51), and freshman Ethan Rudawsky (Wooster, Ohio / Wooster) 10th (28:09).

On the women’s side, John Carroll won the team title with 31 points, followed by Walsh (36), Wooster (67), and Ohio Dominican (124). The Scots were led once again by sophomore Suzanne Capehart (Herndon, Va. / Oakton), as she covered the 5K race in 20:09, good for sixth-place overall. Freshman Sarah Appleton (Portsmouth, Ohio / Notre Dame) was eighth (20:17), sophomore Chelsea Fisher (Metuchen, N.J. / Metuchen) took 19th (21:16), senior Becca Thomas (Elyria, Ohio / Elyria) placed 24th (21:45), and sophomore Jessica Yarmosky (Pittsfield, Mass. / Monument Mountain) came in 26th (21:58) to complete Wooster’s scoring.