The UC Running Club got off to an very early start Saturday morning, departing from Cincinnati at 6:20AM to head to Mounds State Park, Indiana. The first race of the day would be at 10:00AM with the Women's 6k. Followed by the Men's 8k at 11:00AM, and awards at 12:30PM. The weather was looking to be a great day for racing with it being just a bit cooler in the morning and light overcast. However, this course is known to be pretty tough with the amount of hills and rough footing so it would be a challenge for sure. No matter what the conditions, Cincinnati was ready to leave it all on the course for the debut of the NIRCA season.
One of the most exciting parts of the day was that the UC women would finally be scoring as a team again after barely not having enough all last year. They would place 7th as a team with some impressive individual finishes! To lead the team, Magen Brailey (26:04, 11th) would narrowly miss receiving a top 10 medal. Still an incredible performance from a first year club runner! The rest of the girls were as follows: Alex Ballinger (26:40, 23rd), Gabby Bobadilla (27:18, 33rd), Catherine Fadden (27:38, 43rd), Hannah Beitzinger (28:43, 62nd), and Lily Deller (29:29, 71st). The women will gain even more runners in upcoming races, so it's very exciting to see how they will continue to advance as a team this season!
Another awesome feature to the meet, would be the men's largest team in running club in history! They would have 18 guys come out to race, so a lot of first time club runners. These new faces would definitely make themselves known as the team grabbed a 3rd place finish. To lead the team, Jeffery Griffiths (28:13, 6th) would grab a top 10 medal for his first NIRCA race. The rest of the top 7 were as follows: Sean Kane (28:31, 12th), Kyle Klingler (29:15, 27th), Joey Stimler (29:33, 38th), Jack Randall (29:47, 45th), Mark Gruenbacher (31:12, 80th), and Stephen Pair (31:29, 88th). That's four of the seven that were first time NIRCA runners! Great job everyone!
Although the times were not too desirable, the placing was very good by everyone. It was a great meet overall to have the overall biggest team in history, and it will only get better as more plan to be at the next meets. Looking forward to the next meet on October 24th at NIRCA Regionals!
One of the most exciting parts of the day was that the UC women would finally be scoring as a team again after barely not having enough all last year. They would place 7th as a team with some impressive individual finishes! To lead the team, Magen Brailey (26:04, 11th) would narrowly miss receiving a top 10 medal. Still an incredible performance from a first year club runner! The rest of the girls were as follows: Alex Ballinger (26:40, 23rd), Gabby Bobadilla (27:18, 33rd), Catherine Fadden (27:38, 43rd), Hannah Beitzinger (28:43, 62nd), and Lily Deller (29:29, 71st). The women will gain even more runners in upcoming races, so it's very exciting to see how they will continue to advance as a team this season!
Another awesome feature to the meet, would be the men's largest team in running club in history! They would have 18 guys come out to race, so a lot of first time club runners. These new faces would definitely make themselves known as the team grabbed a 3rd place finish. To lead the team, Jeffery Griffiths (28:13, 6th) would grab a top 10 medal for his first NIRCA race. The rest of the top 7 were as follows: Sean Kane (28:31, 12th), Kyle Klingler (29:15, 27th), Joey Stimler (29:33, 38th), Jack Randall (29:47, 45th), Mark Gruenbacher (31:12, 80th), and Stephen Pair (31:29, 88th). That's four of the seven that were first time NIRCA runners! Great job everyone!
Although the times were not too desirable, the placing was very good by everyone. It was a great meet overall to have the overall biggest team in history, and it will only get better as more plan to be at the next meets. Looking forward to the next meet on October 24th at NIRCA Regionals!