JBU men finish sixth at OBU

Photo submitted JBU cross country runners Ryan Knight and Clay Popkess run during the Oklahoma Baptist Invitational on Saturday in Shawnee, Okla.
Photo submitted JBU cross country runners Ryan Knight and Clay Popkess run during the Oklahoma Baptist Invitational on Saturday in Shawnee, Okla.

SHAWNEE, Okla. -- Sophomore John Unruh and junior Nathan Pearson factored into the scoring for the first time this season as the John Brown University men's cross country team took home sixth place at the Oklahoma Baptist Invitational on Saturday morning.

Sophomore Ben Martin narrowly missed a Top 10 finish, landing in 12th (27 minutes, 8 seconds), just 1:48 behind medalist James Majenge of Cameron (Okla.). Seniors Jacob Benjamin and Josh Uzelac both scored for the fourth time in as many meets, turning in 27th (27:57) and 36th (28:36) places, respectively.

Unruh's 42nd place (29:06) and Pearson's 48th place (29:45) allowed the duo to factor into the scoring for the first time this season.

JBU (2:22:34) finished behind Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) by 3:19, while Oklahoma City claimed the team title with a time of 2:11:20 to maintain its grip on the Sooner Athletic Conference.

Women

Freshman Olivia Lisle scored for the first time in her collegiate career, and the John Brown University women's cross country team landed a 10th place at the Oklahoma Baptist Invitational.

Freshman Allika Pearson again paced the Golden Eagle scoring, earning 36th place (20:26) at the 6,000-meter event, while senior Reagan Roth continues to contribute a reliable No. 2 time as she cross the finish line in 53rd (20:58). Sophomore Sarah Larson (21:14) finished just 16 seconds later in 63rd overall place.

Freshman Emilie Asbeck also scored for the fourth time this season, contributing a 66th place finish (21:25) while Lisle grabbed 85th place (22:09).

JBU finished just shy of a minute behind Arkansas-Fort Smith with a time of 1:46:14. Oklahoma Baptist captured the title at its own course, while Oklahoma City's Lydia Mato (17:51) took home individual honors.

Up next

The Golden Eagles return to action on Oct. 20 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the host course of the NAIA National Championships, hosted by Mount Mercy (Iowa), scheduled to be run at Seminole Valley Park.

Sports on 10/09/2018