Rio men third at Jenna Strong Classic

Rio Grande Sports Information
     WILMINGTON, Ohio - Even on a day when many of its front-runners got the day off, the University of Rio Grande men's cross country team took full advantage of a chance to show the depth on its roster.
     The RedStorm placed three runners in the Top 20 and took third place as a team in the Jim Boland Men's 8K as part of Friday afternoon's Jenna Strong Classic hosted by Wilmington College.
     Moritz Siegel and John Young finished 16th and 17th, respectively, while AbDoul Bah was 19th for head coach Matt Paxton's team in a field of 251 runners.
     Siegel, a freshman from Leipzig, Germany, crossed in a time of 26:20, while Young - a sophomore from Leroy, Ohio, finished in 26:22. Bah, a freshman from Columbus, Ohio, posted a time of 26:27.
     As a team, Rio Grande finished with 119 points. Cedarville won the team title with 42 points, with Mount Vernon Nazarene topping the RedStorm for runner-up honors in the 20-team field with 93 points.
     "We rested our top seven guys and still ran absolutely incredible this evening," Paxton said. "Our younger guys beat some legit teams."
     Also representing Rio Grande was freshman Micah Balsmeyer (Wallbridge, OH), who was 39th in a time of 26:53; freshman Nathan Ward (Galena, OH), who placed 49th in a time of 27:16; sophomore Jacob Faught (Georgetown, OH), who took 58th place after crossing in 27:28; freshman Brody King (Sunbury, OH), who was 73rd with a time of 27:44; freshman A'Ziah Jenkins (Pickerington, OH), who crossed in 27:54 for 81st place; freshman Gage Renison (Chillicothe, OH), who placed 85th with a mark of 28;03; junior JJ Larue (Chillicothe, OH), who was 88th in a time of 28:04; freshman Josh Alexander (Fredericktown, OH), who finished 94th with a time of 28:11; sophomore David van Kuik (Utrecht, The Netherlands), who placed 97th in 28:16; freshman Jaxson Immell (Chillicothe, OH), who was 114th after crossing in 28:37; sophomore Caleb Hines (Chillicothe, OH), whose time of 28:50 was good enough for 121st place; junior Jayden Dunlap (Gallipolis, OH), who finished 136th with a mark of 29:16; Tyler Hill, who placed 141st in a time of 29:22; Joey Morris, who took 150th place with a time of 29:41; sophomore Wyatt Webb (Gallipolis, OH), who was 177th in a time of 30:41; and freshman Angel Montes (Mexico), who finished 185th in a time of 30:55.
     Tate Yoder of host Wilmington had the fastest individual time of 25:28.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action next Saturday at the Great Lakes Challenge in Grand Rapids, Mich.