ELYRIA, Ohio — The Marietta College cross country team competed in the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship Saturday (Oct. 31) afternoon at Lorain County Community College. The Pioneer men finished ninth, while the women competed as individuals.
 
Ohio Northern won the men's team championship with 39 total points. Mount Union was second with 80 points, followed by Capital (92), Otterbein (93), Baldwin Wallace (96), Heidelberg (96), Wilmington (197), Muskingum (265), and Marietta (279).
 
Otterbein's Mitch Green won the men's individual title with a time of 25:22.7 on the 8-kilometer course. Kevin Hernandez (Plymouth, Ohio/Willard) was Marietta top finisher crossing the line in 27:21.4.
 
The remainder of the Pioneer lineup included Hunter Uptain (Millersburg, Ohio/West Holmes) (29:19.5), Ryan Bertolino (Marlton, N.J./Paul VI) (31:02.8), Cooper Warren (Logan, Ohio/Logan) (32:49.3), and Hunter Wick (Seymour, Ind./Seymour) (39:22.4).
 
Mount Union won the women's team title with 34 points. Otterbein was second with 69 points, followed by Ohio Northern (70), Baldwin Wallace (71), Capital (138), Wilmington (199), Heidelberg (202), and Muskingum (232).
 
Ohio Northern's Kensington Black won the women's individual championship with a time of 21:53.1 on the 6-kilometer course. Audrey Helmick (Berkeley Springs, W.Va./Berkeley Springs) posted a personal best time of 24:19.8 to finish 40th overall. Alexis Wagers (Holmesville, Ohio) also posted a personal record time finishing in 25:49.8, while Leilani Navarro (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Wood County Christian School) finished in 30:14.8.
 
The Pioneers will race in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet on Saturday (Nov. 14) in east Lansing, Michigan.
 
Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on X and Instagram.