Cloudy skies and cold conditions were in store as the Lafayette cross country team attended the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Meet. Held at Penn State University, the meet featured 27 teams throughout the region. Lafayette’s women’s team finished in 21st place, while the men finished in 22nd place.
The event concluded the cross country season, as the team will now concentrate on the indoor track and field season that begins Dec. 3rd.
In the women’s race, senior Becky Hartman finished in 101st with a time of 22:44.3, continuing her success from Patriot Leagues two weeks ago. Other top finishers were freshman Elizabeth Borah (22:57.7, 113th) and junior Emma Lorey (23:18.2, 133rd). To calculate the overall team scores, points were compiled from the top five finishers from each school.
On the men’s side, senior Bobby Oehrlein led the way for the Leopards as he finished in 42nd place and achieved a time of 31:18.9. Running the 10K race instead of the usual 8k, this was one of the higher finishes at the regional meet for the Leopards in recent years. He was only six seconds short of the all-time record held by Alex Wechsler ’07.
“A lot of our success has come from working together as a team. I always work to constantly be a positive person at practice, lifting teammates up and being there for each of them,” Oerhlein said. “I help the freshman get accustomed to the team by organizing a trip to the Poconos before the season.”
Rounding out the top three finishers for Lafayette on the men’s side were sophomore Emil Arangala (32:58.3, 127th) and freshman Titan Casey, who finished just seconds later (33:09.7, 132nd).
In addition to his impressive performance this past weekend, Oerhelin received academic honors, as he was selected for the Academic All-Patriot League team.
“I’d be interested in studying biomechanics within the body, as that would combine both my passion for running and engineering,” Oehrlein, who is majoring in mechanical engineering, said.
Oehrlein contributed to much of the men’s team’s success throughout his four years. He recently placed 11th in the Patriot League Championships and earned All-Patriot League second-team honors.
All of Lafayette’s participants in the Mid-Atlantic meet are currently enjoying a brief break. Training will start next week for what the team hopes will result in successful winter and spring campaigns.
