News

 Austin Stiles turned in his second straight all-conference performance to help the Wilmington College men place seventh at the Ohio Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship, contested on the WC campus Saturday afternoon.

The Quakers finished with 189 team points. Heidelberg claimed the team title with 42 points.

Stiles (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) duplicated his fourth-place finish from 2008, covering the course in 25:30.

“That was fun,” Stiles said. “I threw off my watch at the start line and said, ‘hey, that doesn’t matter anymore.’ I just went out there and went for it. I figured if I was going to have a shot to win, I would have to try to run away from them with two miles to go. I just didn’t have it the last half-mile. It was awesome. My high school coach and old teammates were here. It was pretty cool stuff.”

Brad Orr (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) finished 44th overall in 27:07. Pat Carroll (Cincinnati/Purcell Marian) was 46th in 27:09. Jacob Bessman (Andover/Pymatuning Valley) finished 70th in 27:52. Cody Pontius (Circleville/Logan Elm) was 92nd in 28:42. Bret Orth (Ashland) finished 97th in 28:55. Chad Hirschauer (Cincinnati/Milford) was 101st, finishing in 29:02.

“Austin definitely put himself out there. It was a battle and he was right there,” Combs said. “I’m very excited about the way he ran. I think he’s going to be in there at regionals in two weeks and have a chance for qualifying for nationals.”