OBERLIN, OHIO -- The Trine University women's cross country team traveled to Oberlin, Ohio to take part in the annual Inter-Regional Rumble hosted by Oberlin College and placed ninth overall.
As a team, the Thunder posted an overall score of 298 points which tied them with Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Alma (Mich.) College, but Trine earned the ninth spot via tiebreaker. Host school Oberlin came in first in the team standings with 72 total points. John Carroll (Ohio) University was second with 120 points and Kenyon (Ohio) College was third with 123 points.
The top mark for the Thunder women in the 6k "Varsity" race was turned in by freshman Evonne Bultemeyer (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) who ran a time of 22:46.9 to average 6:06.4 per mile and place 12th overall of 240 runners. Senior Kyla Binfet (Branson, Mont./West Yellowstone) was second to cross the finish line for Trine with a time of 22:56.5 and finished 12th.
Junior Lacie Piekarski (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) finished just outside the top-50 in 51st place after running a time of 23:39.9. Fellow junior Hannah Blystone (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) had the fourth fastest time on the team of 24:39.9 and was followed by freshman Ruthie Luebcke (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) who posted a mark of 24:59.3.
Also finishing in the top-7 individual times for Trine were freshmen Elizabeth Lohman (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) and Stacy Dibley (Bristol, Ind./Elkhart Central). Lohman completed the course in a time of 25:12.1 and Dibley had a time of 26:26.8.
Rounding out those who competed in the varsity race were freshmen Miranda Coombs (Lexington, Mich./Croswell-Lexington) and Anna Willis (Homer, Mich./Homer). Coombs turned in an overall time of 27:59.9 and Willis followed with a mark of 30:15.0.
"We had a tough week of practice but the team came out and performed well," said Head Coach Zach Raber. "We had big PR's from Evie Bultemeyer, Lacie Piekarski, Elizabeth Lohman and Stacy Dibley. I was extremely happy with how the whole women's team competed. Hannah Blystone was coming off of the East Regional Triathlon Championship in Florida last weekend, so she's not fully recovered from that race. Considering all circumstances, I couldn't be more pleased with our progress."
In addition to the varsity race, Trine had a pair of runners compete in the 6k "Open" race. Freshman Ashton Benson (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy) recorded the top overall time of the duo at 30:18.0 and placed 85th of 110 runners. Fellow freshman Marissa Shaver (Fostoria, Ohio/Hopewell-Loudon) was the other competitor and completed the race in a time of 31:21.3.
The women's cross country team will now set its sights on the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 28 in Adrian, Mich. Adrian College will serve as host of the event with the first race scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
