Under the overcast skies of Ohio, races came down to just seconds for the cross country teams. A training partner finally bested her counterpart, and a high-stakes senior rivalry determined winner and runner-up.
Predicted to come in fourth, the DePauw women clinched third Saturday on College of Wooster's L.C. Boles Golf Course. DePauw men finished fifth in the NCAC, narrowly missing a conference prediction by one spot.
Senior Noah Droddy finished second out of 117 men, with a time of 25 minutes, 38.3 seconds. It was his third-straight top-two finish. He was only 2.4 seconds behind the winner, senior Bobby Over of Allegheny, who was named NCAC Runner of the Year.
"It's disappointing," Droddy said. "We were neck and neck the whole time but he pulled away a little near the end. Going into it we both knew it was going to be kind of a one on one battle. He just kind of got the better of me."
Sophomore Hope Jordan took the top spot for the DePauw women, running a 23:25.0 5K and placing seventh. Her accomplishments this season also earned her a First Team All-NCAC spot.
"That's the Hope Jordan we all know, she comes in when we need her the most and performs," head coach Kori Stoffregen said. "The team really needed that."
Freshman Heather O'Brien trailed Jordan by five seconds and finished eighth. O'Brien made second-team all-conference and was named the Newcomer of the Year following the race.
Juniors Dillon Raidt and Stu Newstat and freshman Brian Myers followed Droddy with 27th-, 37th- and 39th-place finishes respectively. DePauw men will also be taking Noah Gatwood, Will Bond and Jim Easterhouse to the NCAA Regional Meet.
"I wasn't necessarily pleased on the results for the team, but I was proud of how it happened," Droddy said. "They showed a lot of heart in the way that they raced."
Joining O'Brien and Jordan on the women's team will be Juniors Siri Retrum and Ashley Guevara, senior Emily Freiny, and sophomores Megan Everhart and Emma Clor, all girls who Stoffregen predicted would lead the team to the third place finish.
"We were very happy with the women's placement, coming behind two nationally ranked teams," he said.
Both teams will travel to Anderson, Ind., on Nov. 10 for the NCAA Regional meet.