CROSS COUNTRY

The #3 Huntington men’s cross country team captured the 2020 Crossroads League Championships title Friday afternoon at Indiana Wesleyan. The Foresters claimed five of the top 12 spots to finish with 40 points, nine points ahead of second-place Taylor who is currently ranked No. 1 nationally.

Rounding out the team scoring was #7 IWU in third with 101 points followed by Spring Arbor (126), #RV Grace (143), #14 Goshen (154), #RV Mount Vernon (157), Bethel (232), Saint Francis (245) and Marian (254).

Adrien Gentie was the first of Johnson’s crew to cross the finish line. The senior harrier took third in 25:14. Elijah Chesterman came in sixth out of 118 runners by clocking in at 25:38. Kent Yoder cruised to a ninth place finish in 25:41 with Reece Gibson, who posted the top freshman time, a few seconds back at 25:45 for tenth place.

Rounding out HU’s scoring was Haile Stutzman who claimed 12th in 25:54. Aaron Hendryx (26:17) and Austin Liepe (26:21) had Top 20 performances by posting 17th and 18th place finishes respectively. Other runners for Huntington included Kody Ahrens (84th, 28:50), Justin Ayers (92nd, 29:14), Paul Bickel (95th, 29:32), Justin Edwards (103rd, 30:28) and Logan Busz (111th, 30:59).

“We’re happy with today’s result,” said Coach Johnson. “This group is very focused on the national championships and we actually probably trained too hard this fall.

“Our guys were excited to run against the top team in the nation and that was definitely reflected in our top seven finishing in front of Taylor’s five.”

HU’s top five runners in Gentie, Chesterman, Yoder, Gibson and Stutzman all earned a spot on the All-Conference Team while Coach Nick Johnson was tabbed the CL Coach of the Year.

Today’s crown is the program’s sixth conference title with the last dating back to 2011. As the Crossroads League Champions, HU earned the league’s automatic bid to NAIA National Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on April 9.

On the women’s side, Emma Wilson dominated the field of 109 runners by clocking in at 16:40 to earn the individual title. Not only did she break the course record, which she set a few weeks back, the Greencastle native also set a new meet record.

Hannah Stoffel, in her first race of the fall, took second in 16:40. Sydney Lambert turned in the fastest freshman time of the meet by navigating the course in 18:37 for seventh place. Saige Norris (19:21) and Jessica Chojnacki (19:38) finished 19th and 24th respectively to round out Huntington’s scoring.

Other runners for HU included Olivia Von Gunten (30th, 19:57), Ireland Dodson (39th, 20:19), Erin Manchess (52nd, 20:56), Meg McDonald (68th, 21:42), Shaylynn Reyes (76th, 22:11), Lauren Craig (77th, 22:12) and Megan Miller (87th, 23:03).

As a team, the 3rd-ranked Foresters ran within three points of top-ranked Taylor to finish second.

The #1 Trojans finished with 50 points followed by HU (53), #7 IWU (100), #12 Saint Francis (127), #RV Grace (164), Goshen (179), Mount Vernon (180), Marian (189), Spring Arbor (190) and Bethel (202).

“The ladies were only three points away from No. 1 team in the nation despite not having a stellar day,” said Johnson. “Our focus now turns to the NAIA National Championships. With the capability of going 1-2 in the nation with Emma and Hannah and potentially having four All-Americans, we’re excited about this spring.”

Overall, Johnson is excited about the future of both programs. “To go from the bottom to the top of the best conference in the nation in just three years is a testament to the team’s hard work and dedication.

“We’re building something special here and look forward to not just this spring but the next few years as we have some big signings to announce soon.”