Four Spartans earn All-UAA honors at meet 

The Case Western Reserve University cross country teams both finished fifth out of eight teams at the University Athletic Association Championship. The Spartans finished with four All-UAA performers, two on each side, as the men earned their best finish in five years.

On Oct. 27 at Genesee Valley Park in Rochester, N.Y., the two teams battled a number of nationally-ranked foes in the UAA Championship meet. No. 9 Washington University won the men’s meet with 52 points. Right behind them was No. 12 New York University, which finished with 60 points. No. 20 Carnegie Mellon University finished in third, with 65, while No. 26 University of Chicago finished with 88 points. The Spartan men finished in fifth with 141 points. The University of Rochester, Emory University, and Brandeis University rounded out the last three places with 153, 156 and 186 points, respectively.

No. 8 Chicago won the women’s title, finishing with 37 points. No. 14 New York University earned the silver in a tight race for second with 96 points. No. 20 Carnegie Mellon and No. 31 Washington were third and fourth with 103 and 105 points, respectively. The No. 23 Spartans finished fifth with 121 points. Finishing out the standings was the University of Rochester right behind Case with 122 points and Emory in seventh with 127. Brandeis finished last with 193 points.

Senior co-captain Chris Kelly finished 10th overall, the Spartans’ best finish since Dominic Smith finished sixth in 2008. Kelly crossed the finish line on the 8-kilometer course in 25:32.3, earning him All-UAA honors.

Right behind Kelly, and also earning All-UAA honors, was junior David Dixon in 11th place. Dixon earned second-team honors with a time of 25:41.3.

Rounding out the scorers for the Spartans was co-captain Ethan Teare, who finished in 35th place with a time of 26:15.4. Senior Phil Yeung crossed the line in 40th place with a time of 26:23.8. Behind him was Timothy Travitz, who finished in 26:31.60 in 45th place.

Freshman Kelsey Aamoth had an impressive debut performance in her first conference championship. The rookie led the Spartans with a time of 22:49.3 on the 6-kilometer course. The time was good enough for 13th place and second-team All-UAA honors. Joining Aamoth at the front of the pack was fellow freshman Lydia Greene, who finished in 14th place, under a second behind her teammate. Green finished in 22:50.1, also earning second-team All-UAA honors.

In 25th place for the Spartans was junior Brooke Simpson who crossed the line in 23:10.3. Corin Bowen followed shortly behind in 27th with a time of 23:13.6. The final scorer for the Spartans was sophomore Dana Jeter, who finished in a time of 23:38.30, good enough for 42nd place.

Case will enjoy the weekend off as it prepares for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 10 at Anderson University in Anderson, Ind. The men are ranked third in the Great Lakes Region behind Calvin College and Wabash College. The women are currently ranked fourth behind Calvin College, Oberlin College and Hope College.