September 1, 2012 - Geneva College
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September 1, 2012

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New Wilmington, PA - The expectations for the Geneva College cross country teams were pretty high heading into the 2012 season. After watching the men′s and women′s team each take first place honors at the Westminster College Invitational to start the new campaign it has become evident why those expectations were soaring.

It may have been asking too much from Geneva′s teams to have a more impressive beginning to a season. The men′s team posted 44 total points in taking the top spot against five other schools, while the women′s team turned in an incredible 21 point performance in defeating the next closest competitor by 43 points.

In the men′s race, senior Nick Edinger took home the overall top prize with a sub-26 minute effort at 25:45 on the 8K course. Teammate Owen Struck finished third with a time of 27:25. Other top finishers included Jacob Beschner (6), Charles Parker (14) and Lon Hambrice (20). Geneva′s team average finish was 28:27, which was almost a minute faster than second place Hiram College.

While the men′s team was impressive on Saturday, the women′s team was dominant. When you talk about high expectations, nobody had higher regards than freshman Sarah-Noel Meek. In her first collegiate race, Meek ran 24:00 flat and defeated the next closest opponent by 58 seconds. Heidi Steiner (4), Alayna Merkle (5), Shannon Rech (7) and Anna Kluitenberg (8) rounded out the top five for Geneva. Emily Hoobler finished 14th just for good measure. While Geneva posted just 21 points in the victory, West Liberty finished second with a total of 64 points.

Geneva′s women will head to the Waynesburg University Invitational next Saturday before both the men and women will compete at Saint Vincent on September 22nd.

Geneva College is a comprehensive Christian college of the arts, sciences and professional studies. Founded in the tradition of the Reformed Christian faith, Geneva prepares students to serve Christ in all areas of society: work, family and the church. Geneva College′s philosophy of education is based on the Foundational Concepts of Christian Higher Education. Geneva is a founding member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU).

Sep 1, 2012