WILMINGTON, Ohio — Sophomore
Sam Vaught recorded a top-10 finish Friday to lead the Wabash College cross country team to fifth place among 18 scoring teams at the Jenna Strong Fall Classic, hosted by Wilmington College.
Vaught finished ninth overall in the Jim Boland Men's 8,000-Meter Race, completing the course in 25 minutes, 58 seconds. He was the second finisher among runners representing scoring teams, earning two points toward the Little Giants' team total of 194.
Wabash finished behind Findlay and Rio Grande, which tied for first place with 43 points apiece, Shawnee State in third with 125 points, and host Wilmington in fourth with 150. The Little Giants finished ahead of Pikeville (212), Hanover (224), Wittenberg (229), and Midway (229).
Vaught continued his strong sophomore campaign after recording a personal-best time of 25:31.1 at the Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic on Oct. 3. His performance Friday marked his second consecutive top-11 overall finish in an 8,000-meter race.
Junior Johnathan Loney was the second Wabash runner across the finish line, placing 34th overall in 27:10.3. Loney contributed 23 points to the Little Giants' team score.
Freshman Cooper Knoblauch finished 70th overall with a time of 28:01.6, scoring 48 points. Classmate Raul Delgado followed in 84th place, completing the course in 28:34.7 and adding 59 points.
Freshman Owen Dilley rounded out the Little Giants' five scoring runners with an 88th-place finish in a season-best time of 28:44.4, contributing 62 points.
Freshman Austin Baugh finished 94th overall in 28:50.9, followed by senior Austin Jewell in 104th place with a time of 29:05.4. Freshman Malcolm Cruz crossed the finish line in 112th place at 29:26.4.
Sophomore Kaiden McGuire finished 126th in 30:02.8, while junior Nathan Hollcraft followed in 127th place at 30:06.5. Senior Evan Shupe completed the Wabash lineup with a 133rd-place finish in 30:18.5.
The Little Giants placed all five scoring runners among the top 88 overall finishers in a field of 197 runners who completed the race. Wabash finished 18 points behind fourth-place Wilmington and 18 points ahead of sixth-place Pikeville.
Tyler Jenkins, competing unattached, won the individual race in 25:12.0.
