FINDLAY, Ohio — Noah Tobin won the Ohio Athletic Conference men’s cross country race Saturday at Hillcrest Golf Course Saturday afternoon.
Tobin’s victory was overshadowed by Faith Duncan, the WC runner who won the women’s race and accomplished something only two other females have done in NCAA Div. III history.
Duncan ran 19:49.2 to win the race and become just the third female runner to finish a 6-kilometer race in under 20 minutes.
The last to do it was Fiona Smith of the College of Saint Benedict, achieving the feat three times during the 2023 season, with a career best time of 19:51.1. Smith was the runner that Duncan defeated to win the 5K National Championship during the 2024 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships in May. Missy Butry of Wartburg College was the other Division III female to finish a 6K cross country race in under 20 minutes.
Other accomplishments for Duncan today included becoming the Quakers first ever individual OAC cross country champion and the first one to be a first team All-OAC performer since Tricia Steffen finished seventh in 2014.
Sophomore Hayden Setty was the Quakers second finisher with a time of 25:20.2 and an 83rd place finish. Freshman Allyson Merriman was 109th, crossing the line in 27:55.1. The final three runners for Wilmington all finished next to each other in senior Bella Stevens (30:09.1), junior Abby Jo Leiss (31:51.1) and freshman Leah Gorby (32:12.8). Every runner for the Quakers today ran either a season best or a career best time.
After being an All-OAC honoree two times during his career, once on the first team and once on the second team, Tobin broke through Saturday and won the OAC individual championship with a time of 24:20.9. He bested Barrett Scheatzle of John Carroll University by just under 19 seconds in a dominant effort. This is his second first team All-OAC honor and fourth win of the season. This was a career best time for Tobin.
Just missing out on his first All-OAC honor was junior Tate Yoder, who finished 21st at 25:41.7, just a second out of 20th place and second team honors. Gabe Moore shattered his previous personal best time with a mark of 25:54.8 to finish in 32nd place, which was a huge jump from 70th last season.
Tyler Parks also made a huge jump from 2023, running a personal best time of 27:14.7 to finish 85th after taking 103rd last season. Freshman Henry Hildebrandt finished up his first OAC Championships in 134th with a time of 28:44.3.
Bryson Robinette crossed the line in 29:13.5, Keegan Kidd ran a personal best time of 29:52.6, and Cameron Chatfield ran a new personal best by over a minute at 30:25.9.
Bryce Hensley finished in 31:05.0 and Isaiah Early ran a huge personal best by over two minutes, finishing in 35:10.6.
The Quakers compete at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Shelbyville, Ind. hosted by Franklin College on Nov. 16.
