Jenkins, Crawford lead Rio to RSC Championsip

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande sported two of the top three finishers and the RedStorm captured the team championship at Saturday morning's River States Conference Men's Cross Country Championship on the Bob Willey Course.
     Senior Tyler Jenkins (Barnesville, OH) won his third straight RSC individual championship and third Runner of the Year award in a row by finishing in 25:01, while sophomore Ryder Crawford (Batavia, OH) was third with a mark of 25:15.
     The duo's exploits helped Rio upend 11th-ranked Indiana University East for the team title. The RedStorm finished with 38 points, while the Red Wolves totaled 42 points and Shawnee State University was third with 60 points.
     As a result of the win, Rio Grande - which was ranked No. 17 nationally in the most recent coaches' poll - will be making its third consecutive trip to the NAIA National Championship, which is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 21, at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.
     "What a day for the program. We had an absolutely amazing day. Our guys upsetting the number 11 ranked team in the country on our home course was a huge step for our program," said Rio Grande head coach Matt Paxton. "It's our third trip to nationals in the last three years, but it's our first as the conference champion. We fought very hard. It came down to the very last mile. We were behind the middle, but came back and cemented the victory over, literally, the last 400 to 600 meters."
     Jenkins and Crawford earned First Team All-RSC honors by finishing in the top seven, while senior Mugisha Pomossene (Dayton, OH) and junior Kasy Science (Marietta, OH) captured Second Team recognition by finishing ninth and 10th, respectively in times of 26:04.36 and 26:04.42.
     The RedStorm also got Third Team performances from graduate senior Carter Lipscomb (West Union, WV), who was 15th with a time of 26:27; freshman Micah Balsmeyer (Walbridge, OH), who was 19th in 26:42; and sophomore John Young (Leroy, OH), who finished 20th after crossing in 26:43.
     "Tyler controlled the race the entire time and, when he finally made his move, he shut the door on everybody else in the field," said Paxton, who was named the league's Coach of the Year. "Ryder finished third and beat so many people that he wasn't able to come close to this time last year. Mugisha was our three today and he didn't even score last year, but he competed far beyond what we had ever seen him compete before. Kasy Science had one of the best races he's had in his career and he's had a fairly good career up to this point. And Carter, who was a graduate transfer from the University of Charleston and who scored as our five, is a graduate transfer we added because he brought leadership and championship experience to our group and he showed why we trusted him to do that."
     Also representing the RedStorm in the 122-runner field were sophomore Anton Meinlschmidt (Weibeyoke, Germany), who finished 25th in a time of 27:04; freshman Moritz Siegel (Leipzig, Germany), who was 26th in 27:10; junior Ashton Beverly (Chillicothe, OH), who placed 27th in 27:16; freshman AbDoul Bah (Columbus, OH), who took 28th place in a time of 27:25; sophomore Jacob Faught (Georgetown, OH), who crossed in 27:41 for 35th place; freshman Nathan Ward (Galena, OH), who was 37th with a time of 27:46; David van Kuik (Utrecht, The Netherlands), who was 45th with an effort of 28:05; freshman Brody King (Sunbury, OH), who took 48th place in 28:16; freshman Jaxson Immell (Chillicothe, OH), who finished 54th in 28:28; freshman A'Ziah Jenkins (Pickerington, OH), who was 60th in 28:56; junior JJ Larue (Chillicothe, OH), who finished 61st in a time of 28:56; freshman Josh Alexander (Fredericktown, OH), who was 66th with a mark of 29:08; sophopmore Caleb Hines (Chillicothe, OH), who was 71st with a time of 29:24; freshman Gage Renison (Chillicothe, OH) , who was 74th in 29:33; Joey Morris, who finished 84th with a time of 30:11; freshman Victor Koech (Kenya), who placed 85th after crossing in 30:13; Tyler Hill, who was 88th with a mark of 30:42; junior Jayden Dunlap (Gallipolis, OH), who took 100th place after crossing in 31:36; sophomore Wyatt Webb (Gallipolis, OH), who finished 102nd in 31:51; freshman Ian Kohls (Bremerhaven, Germany), who was 104th with a mark of 31:58; and freshman Angel Montes (Mexico), who was 108th in a time of 32:35.
     The top four runners who were not part of Rio's championship team also qualified for the national championship.
     The quartet included Cameron Nocton and Max Kline from IU East, Shawnee State's Isaiah Lanoy and Midway's Carson Milner.
     Kline was named the RSC Newcomer of the Year, which is awarded to the meet's top freshman or transfer.
     Additionally, the RSC also announced the athletes recognized as their program's Champion of Character. Each team in the league is asked to nominate one athlete, who best represents the NAIA's Champions of Character program and its five core values of Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Servant Leadership and Sportsmanship.
     Rio's honoree was Meinlschmidt.