XC: Championship Season Begins Sunday at Big Ten Conference Meet
10/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 27, 2016
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | USTFCCCA LIVE RESULTS WALL
Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s and women’s cross country teams will begin their postseason slate this Sunday (Oct. 30) at the Big Ten Championships.
The race will be held at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn. The women’s 6K race will start at 11 a.m. ET, and the men’s 8K will follow at 11:45 a.m. Both races will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
On the men’s side, four squads are ranked inside the top 30 of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll: No. 14 Michigan, No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 19 Indiana and No. 29 Michigan State. The women’s race will feature three ranked squads in action – No. 6 Michigan, No. 9 Penn State and No. 27 Michigan State.
MEN’S PREVIEW
– Dating back to last year, Evan Stifel has been top finisher for the Buckeyes at the last six races he has competed in
– Stifel was the top-Buckeye finisher at the 2015 Big Ten Championships when he finished 24th. Mitch Leitch (67th) is the only other returning scorer from last year
– Ohio State is ranked sixth in the Great Lakes Region behind the aforementioned four Big Ten schools and Eastern Michigan
– Alex Lomong and Aaron Wood, both freshmen, have contributed to the team in 2016. Wood has scored in three out of four races this fall, and Lomong has placed inside the Buckeye top five at two of three meets this season
– Junior Jake Mandel has scored at all four races he has run this season including a season-best fourth-place showing at the All-Ohio Championships with an 8K time of 25:15.5
WOMEN’S PREVIEW
– Sophomore transfer Sarah Kanney has been the top finisher for Ohio State at two of the four varsity races in 2016
– The Buckeyes ran this exact same course in late September and Emily Stoodley was the top finisher … she covered the 6K course with a time of 22:21.0
– The only two returning scorers from last year’s Big Ten Championships are Christine Frederick and Stoodley; Frederick placed 37th with a 6K time of 21:09.3 and Stoodley finished with a readout of 21:23.5
– The Buckeyes are currently ranked ninth in the Great Lakes Region behind five other Big Ten schools
– The Scarlet and Gray’s top finisher at all five meets thus far in 2016 have been by underclassmen: Kanney leads way with two, Emily Stoodley (sophomore), Lainey Studebaker (freshman) and Devon Leahy (freshman) are the other three.
– In four varsity races in 2016, Rachel Weber and Frederick are the lone upper classmen to score. Frederick placed third overall at the Buckeyes team title at the Queen City Invite. Weber has scored at the last two races for the Buckeyes; she was the fifth runner to place at the Roy Griak Invitational and third runner to finish at Pre Nationals for Ohio State.
