Oberlin Men’s Cross Country Sweeps NCAC Championships

SPORTS

November 4, 2022 Established 1874 Volume 152, Number 7

Oberlin Men’s Cross Country Sweeps NCAC Championships

The men’s cross country team poses at the NCAC Championships. Photo Courtesy of Levi Rex

Celia Perks

On Saturday, Oct. 29 the Yeomen placed first in the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship at The College of Wooster, the highest score in the program’s history. The team previously placed second in 1990 and 1994. Together, the entire cross country team cultivated enthusiasm, Obie spirit, and community that allowed them to clinch the title.

The Wooster cross country course is notorious for its grueling environment and lengthy hills, but this challenge did not prevent the men’s team from crushing each expectation set on the eight-kilometer course.

“The hills at Wooster’s course were brutal, especially the final half-mile incline,” second-year Walter Moak said, a sentiment echoed by many of the runners. “[We] had to establish our position earlier in the race.”

Head Track and Field and Cross Country Coach Ray Appenheimer, who has been at Oberlin for 19 years, was incredibly proud of his standout athletes, especially the fourth-years. Captains Chase Sortor and Sam Russ set an early pace and provided confidence. Niels Vanderloo and Matt Walton ran lifetime personal bests, and Ross D’Orfani finished eighth, earning his third career all-conference award. Moak, who placed ninth, improved 32 places from last year’s NCAC Championship and kept the team in the lead, while second-year Jonah Barber finished in the top five out of Oberlin runners despite some race-day challenges.

Appenheimer described how the victory was a team effort and explained how the coaching staff and team will use this accomplishment to propel their future seasons.

“[It was] not just the five runners who scored, not just the 12 who ran,” he said. “It was everyone … determined to celebrate every moment of the race and every moment of that day.”

Cross country is often viewed as an individual sport, but this could not be further from the truth, as the team relied on each other for support and motivation. Russ and Sortor greatly contributed to the win by encouraging positivity and a strong team mindset. Russ ran relentlessly and fearlessly but also focused on having fun.

“Contributing to the team victory on Saturday is the highlight of my running career,” Russ said. “We viewed the race as a celebration of all our hard work and our love for one another.”

Sortor also motivated his teammates to draw strength from one another.

“[My teammates] are some of my biggest inspirations and continually push me to be a better athlete and leader,” he said.

Before the race, he was shaking with nerves because of the daunting course but Barber still managed to run enthusiastically and thanked his teammates for helping him.

“[I] contributed solely by feeding off my teammates ahead of me, behind me, and around me,” he said.

After the races concluded, Coach Appenheimer, Associate Head Cross Country Coach Izzy Alexander, and Volunteer Assistant Coach Anna Scott, OC ’22, were named the NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year for the men’s division. Together, the three coaches pushed each athlete to reach their maximum potential and ultimately, victory.

Despite the conclusion of the season, the entire cross country team will continue to train, practice, and compete especially in preparation for the winter track and field season.

“Let’s not spend time talking about successes, let’s attend to the things that make us successful — our effort, our attitude, our belief in ourselves and the people around us,” Appenheimer said. “If we do that, then our success is all but assured.”

Yeofit and Rec Organize Intramural Doubles Pickleball

Kayla Kim

Contributing Sports Editor

While the brief window of time between fall and winter sports seasons means fewer opportunities to watch the Yeowomen and Yeomen right now, there’s still a sport for avid Oberlin fans to attend that’s currently in full swing. On Mondays and Tuesdays, faculty and students alike serve, dodge, and volley against each other in friendly matches, competing as part of the Intramural Doubles Pickleball League.

As previously reported in the Review, pickleball’s popularity experienced a 650-percent surge of interested players in the past six years, and especially skyrocketed during pandemic restrictions in 2020. Due to its acclaim and the success of Oberlin’s intramural cornhole tournament a few weeks prior, Associate Director of Campus Recreation Sara Schoenhoft decided to organize the league. Before, the only place for the Oberlin community to play the sport was at the Splash Zone courts.

The league is organized into random doubles groups every week rather than a bracket. Surrounded by the din of neighboring basketball practices, the games usually take place in front of an audience of one and since there are no referees, the players are left to settle on the rules and scores themselves. They play in three sets for best out of 11 points. In between sets, the players can be seen trying to cool themselves off with paddles, talking strategies with their partner, or chasing the small yellow balls across the court.

Despite the informality, the level of play and excitement from competitors rivals some professional tennis games. For instance, this week, Associate Dean of Students Thom Julian delivered a Serena Williams-style ace in one of the nail-biting sets against women’s soccer players second-year Zoe Garver and third-year Brynn Adams. Meanwhile, football first-years Treyce Wood and Ben Ephraim continued to defend their two-game winning streak, defeating College fourth-years Naomi Friedman and Jessica Norris in a brief but heated game.

Wood and Ephraim said that pickleball is a refreshing athletic environment compared to the intensity of football practices while still offering fun and competition.