WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Cleveland State cross country team continued their unprecedented success on the course Friday, as the Vikings placed first as a team at the Jenna Strong Fall Classic and senior Karen Barrientos won the individual title.
"This was a phenomenal race for us, we not only captured our second title of the season, but we finished ahead of the second place team by more than 60 points," head coach Joe Jaketic said. "This is a tight course, and it has been raining all week down here so it was a difficult race, but they all pushed through and focused on running the race they planned and had a great finish to show for it. We are continuing to work on closing the gap between our groups of runners, and we will continue to work on that in practice leading up to the Horizon League Championship. Hopefully we will be able to carry all of this momentum and energy into the league meet and come away with another successful finish."
Barrientos paced the Vikings and the field with a personal-best cross country 5K time of 17:59 – becoming the first Viking all-time to break 18 minutes on the 5K course.
Cleveland State also had two other runners finish in the top-five, as Anna Brandt bettered her career-best with a time of 18:25 to place third, and Jessica Finley placed fifth overall with a time of 18:48.
This marks the second time this season that Cleveland State's top three runners recorded 18-minute 5K times, while all three times rank in the top-20 on the CSU Top Performances List.
Samantha Butterbaugh and Olivia Hammons rounded out the scorers for the Vikings, as Butterbaugh placed 11th overall with a time of 19:13 and Hammons recorded a time of 19:44 to place 26th.
Freshman Kylie Scott was the next Viking to cross the finish line, as she placed 31st overall in a time of 19:55. Classmates Samantha Meyer (20:48) and Abbey Rojeck (21:08) finished behind Scott, while Emily Marshall (21:39), Anna Beasley (22:22) and Bridget Smik (22:48) rounded out the competitors for the Vikings.
The Vikings will now have a week off from competition, returning to the course for the 2017 Horizon League Championship on Saturday, October 28. This year's Horizon League meet will be hosted by Oakland University, with the women's 6K slated for a 12:00 p.m. start.
Jenna Strong Fall Classic Results
1. Karen Barrientos, 17:59
3. Anna Brandt, 18:25
5. Jessica Finley, 18:48
11. Samantha Butterbaugh, 19:13
26. Olivia Hammons, 19:44
31. Kylie Scott, 19:55
66. Samantha Meyer, 20:48
85. Abbey Rojeck, 21:08
113. Emily Marshall, 21:39
148. Anna Beasley, 22:22
171. Bridget Smik, 22:48
