Unlikely suspects led Emporia State’s cross country teams on both the men’s and women’s sides at Saturday’s MIAA Championships.
The women’s runner wasn’t Katie Mona — who struggled mightily and inexplicably — and the men’s runner was neither Skyler Delmott, who’s been fighting a hamstring injury, nor Adam McGovern. Instead, it was Will Hohmeier who emerged to lead the Hornet men with a 12th-place finish, and Kathryn Davison ran her best race of the year on Saturday at Jones Park, finishing 24th.
Until Oct. 2, when McGovern finished ahead of him at the ESU Invitational, Delmott had never been beaten by a teammate in his college career. Hohmeier did finish ahead of Delmott at the Ollie Isom Invitational on Oct. 16, but he wasn’t the Hornets’ No. 1 runner there — McGovern was once again. Saturday marked the first time Hohmeier has led the Hornets, and his time of 25 minutes, 42.37 seconds set a personal record. His performance led ESU to a fifth-place finish.
“There is a friendly competition,” Hohmeier said. “We’re all working together, just to push each other. I know Skyler’s been the front man since I was a freshman. So it’s nice to beat him, but yeah — he’s always a goal to run with and compete with in practice.”
Delmott finished 17th with a time of 25:51.39. Asher Delmott was ESU’s next-best finisher, coming in 34th, and McGovern was next behind at 38th. Ryan Hahn finished 51st, Dillon Cowing finished 59th, Chris Dvorak was 61st, Andrew Wayman was 67th and Cody Burns and Trey Brokaw finished 72nd and 73rd, respectively.
The ESU men finished with 143 team points. Missouri Southern won the team crown with 47 points, followed by Pittsburg State (53), Southwest Baptist (56) and Central Missouri (90). Finishing behind ESU were Northwest Missouri State with 152 points and Fort Hays with 186.
“I felt like the men competed very well,” ESU coach Dave Harris said. “The men went out and they got in a good position at the beginning. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hold it. I gotta say, the men, they really raced.”
Mona’s disappointing performance was the real surprise for ESU. She finished 31st with a time of 23:48.88 and didn’t have an explanation for why she didn’t have the stamina she needed.
“We had a really easy race coming into this race, and I don’t really know,” she said. “I just felt really exhausted, like breathing-wise. I don’t think I went out too fast, but I felt really tired, and then the whole race, my legs and my arms just felt like they were so heavy. I really don’t know what was wrong.”
Davison, on the other hand, shined. The junior had been set back before the season started when she injured her foot in a surfing accident in Hawaii, and working her way back was a somewhat slow process; she started the season as the Hornets’ fifth runner. Her team-leading performance Saturday with a time of 23:25.97 led the ESU women to an eighth-place finish out of nine teams.
“It just felt so good to be first,” she said. “I kind of felt bad for Katie. I was hoping I could drag her with me.”
Morgan Frehe finished 36th for Emporia State, Christy Weller finished 60th, Jaci Willse finished 65th and Kylie Bookout finished 74th. Tiffany Baum missed Saturday’s meet with an illness.
Southern had 18 points to win the women’s team title. Truman finished second, followed by Pittsburg, Northwest an Fort Hays. Central and Nebrasa-Omaha tied for sixth place, and Southwest Baptist finished ninth.
By finishing in the top 20, Hohmeier and Delmott earned honorable mention All-MIAA honors. The Hornets will next compete at the South Central Regional Championships on Nov. 7 in Abilene, Texas.
Saturday at Jones Park
Women
Team scores
Missouri Southern 18, Truman State 57, Pittsburg State 68, Northwest Missouri 128, Fort Hays State 164, Central Missouri 172, Nebraska-Omaha 172, Emporia State 200, Southwest Baptist 216.
ESU results
24. Davison, 23:25.97; 31. Mona, 23:48.88; 36. Frehe, 23:55.47; 60. Weller, 25:00.03; 65. Willse, 25:10.80; 74. Bookout, 26:07.33.
Men
Team scores
Missouri Southern 47, Pittsburg State 53, Southwest Baptist 56, Central Missouri 90, Emporia State 143, Northwest Missouri 152, Fort Hays State 186.
ESU results
12. Hohmeier, 25:42.37; 17. S. Delmott, 25:51.39; 34. A. Delmott, 26:27.80; 38. McGovern, 26:37.56; 51. Hahn, 27:09.77; 59. Cowing, 27:42.72; 61. Dvorak, 27:50.84; 67. Wayman, 28:31.31; 72. Burns, 29:41.65; 73. Brokaw, 29:57.61.
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