Men's Cross Country Wins Second in a Row; Women Open Competition in Third

The No. 19 Heidelberg College men’s cross country team took home the team championship at the Defiance Invitational. It was the second-straight week that the men’s team has brought home a championship. On the women’s side, Heidelberg was competing in its first scored race of the year, finishing a strong third in the six-team field.

Heidelberg finished with 37 points, while runner-up Tri-State University had 45. The University of Findlay won the women’s race with 20 points and Goshen (67) stood second followed by Heidelberg (83).

On the men’s side, Heidelberg’s top-five finishers all placed in the top-15, with four securing a top-10 position. Paving the way was a third place finish from freshman Ryan Venderley (Decatur, Ind. / Bellmont) (28:33.44) and a fourth place finish from sophomore Devin Butcher (Bowling Green, Ohio / Bowling Green) (28:35.71). Newcomer Deven Siesel (Castalia, Ohio / Margaretta) crossed the finish line in eighth in a time of 28:46.35, while junior Jarrod Saling (Caldwell, Ohio / Caldwell) finished 10th (28:57.51).

Rounding out the top-five finishers for the men’s team was Jamie Kuess (Coldwater, Ohio / Coldwater) with a 12th place finish (29:04.45).

Newcomer Wendy Sumser (Bellevue, Ohio / Bellevue) paced the women’s team with a 10th place finish. Sumser finished the 5k course in 20:52.38. Also securing a spot in the top-15 was Rachel Hoover (South Euclid, Ohio / Brush) with a time of 21:16.19, good enough for 14th. Tabitha Grim (Sullivan, Ohio / Black River) finished 16th (21:28.00), while Erica Tenwalde (Ada, Ohio / Lima Shawnee) (21:47.18) stood 18th. Taylor Bloom (Tiffin, Ohio / Columbian) rounded out the top-five finishers for Heidelberg with a 37th place finish in a time of 24:11.26.