Will Baker Places Second at All-Ohio Meet

CEDARVILLE, Ohio. – The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men's cross-country team competed at the All-Ohio Meet, hosted by Cedarville University on Friday, September 19.  

In the loaded race with teams from all athletics divisions represented, MVNU came in 10th place out of 20 teams (third amongst NAIA teams) with a total score of 240. Will Baker continued his phenomenal freshman season, placing second overall in the 8K, with a finishing time that was only a tenth of a second behind the first-place runner from Rio Grande. Baker's time of 24:37.9 broke his own school record, which was set in his first ever collegiate race at the IWU Twilight Meet on September 5. 

MVNU Results  

2nd – Baker – 24:37.9 

38th – Mason Hendrickson – 25:46.9 

74th – Ryan Lehman – 26:25.8 

81st – David Burkholder – 26:31.7 

106th – Evan Hodkinson – 26:49.2 

148th – Owen Rair – 27:24.8  

168th – Daron Porter – 27:44.2  

175th – Indy Mayer – 27:47.4 

238th – Mason Summers – 28:53.4  

266th – Ethan Jackson – 29:27.9 

271st – Alex Hayden – 29:35.4  

288th – Aaron Gannon – 30:02.7  

295th – Levi Moles – 30:15. 8  

302nd – Simon Rohwer – 30:31.7  

303rd – Ryan Swalley – 30:31.8  

Coach Taylor's Thoughts 

 "Our men's team had another strong race at All-Ohio. They broke their previous school record by one second. In a big race it was exciting to see us close behind Shawnee State who is ranked 24th in the preseason polls. Freshman Will Baker shattered his own record and finished second in the race the featured runners from divisions one, two, and three. Mason Hendrickson dropped a lot of time off his personal best running sub 26 minutes for the first time. Looking forward for the team to continue to build off this performance." 

What's Next 

The Cougars will be traveling to Delaware, Ohio to compete in the OWU Invite, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan on October 3. The race will begin at 6:45 p.m. 

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students, and working adults. With a 327-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education both in-seat and online to nearly 2,100 students from 33 states and 26 foreign countries.