Final Results

TIFFIN, Ohio – The Otterbein women's cross country team wrapped up its third-straight Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Championship on Saturday afternoon, becoming the first team since Heidelberg (1998-2000) to win three-consecutive league titles.

The Cardinals, which earned their highest-ever national ranking last week after checking in at No. 11 in the latest poll, tallied 51 points to fly past second-place John Carroll by 17 points at the event hosted by Heidelberg at the Clinton Heights Golf Course.

"I'm really proud of our women," said excitedly by head coach Dara Ford. "The conference championships are always a dogfight no matter what the team has done up to that point. It's crazy to think that no one on this team has ever lost an OAC title when just just a few years ago no team in program history had ever won a league championship."

Junior Claire Lamb enjoyed yet another memorable day on the course, earning first team All-OAC honors after racing to her second-straight individual title by covering the 6K distance in 21:32.2, outpacing second-place Emily Richards of Ohio Northern by over 30 seconds. Lamb's time also bested her mark of 21:57.5 from a year ago.

Fellow junior Heather Sandvik also collected first-team accolades after cruising to a fourth-place finish among the 120-runner field, checking in with a time of 22:26.8 for her second-straight first team all-conference award.

Classmate Katy Foltz followed close behind in 12th-place overall after crossing the finish line in 23:20.1 to secure her first All-OAC recognition.

Freshman Lorenza Savini placed one spot behind Foltz with a time of 23:22.2 to also claim all-league accolades, while sophomore Allison Rogiers rounded out the top-five finishers for Otterbein with a 21st-place outing at 23:43.4. 

Other notable finishers for the Cardinals include sophomore Allison Currey (23:55.1), as well as freshmen Sydney Smith (23:47.8), Mary Watts (24:47.5) and Mia Brady (24:47.8), all of which placed inside the top-45 runners.

"This team has really come together and it's been a fun season so far," Ford said. "The women are in a great spot heading into regionals. It is going to be an extremely competitive race that may come down to just a few points. But our team is seasoned and is going to leave everything out there and compete to run at nationals."

The Cardinals now shift their focus to the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in two weeks on Nov. 11, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan at Liberty Park in Powell, Ohio. The women's race is slated for 12:15 p.m.