WILMINGTON, Ohio — Senior Josh Mickle (Madison, Madison) accomplished a rare feat to highlight Marietta College's performance at the 2009 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Cross Country Championship, hosted by Wilmington College Saturday (Oct. 31) afternoon. [Men's Results] [Women's Results]

Mickle ran to a 16th place finish to earn All-OAC second team honors, making him the first Pioneer in almost 4 decades to earn league honors at the cross country championship. The senior crossed the line in 26:13.52.

Marietta's men moved up one place from a year ago to finish sixth overall with 180 points in a race that was won by Heidelberg University with 42 points.

"The men showed improvement again by moving up for the second consecutive year," Head Coach Derek Stanley said. "B-W and Otterbein ran really well but beating Wilmington at home took a strong effort from our men. Our seniors pulled us through today!"

Senior Cody Thomas (North Olmsted, North Olmsted) was the second Pioneer to cross the line Saturday. He took 33rd with a time of 26:55.06. Classmate Michael Siringer (Willowick, Willoughby South ) placed 42nd, covering the 8K course in 27:09.92. Marietta's top two freshmen—Caleb Muller (Columbus, Bexley) and Caleb Ellis (St. Albans, W.Va., St. Albans)—rounded out the point scorers with 44th and 45th place finishes. Muller came across in 27:18.74, while Ellis finished in 27:25.83.

The Pioneer women also took sixth place after compiling 168 points. Baldwin-Wallace College captured the women's title with 37 points.

"Our women put together a good race," Stanley said. "Wilmington was strong on its home course. We ran about as tough as we could, and I proud of their effort."

Sophomore Jennifer Emmert (Martinsburg, W.Va., Martinsburg ) led the Pioneer women with a 22nd place finish, covering the 5K course in 23:45.36. Senior Randi Robertson (Avon Lake, Avon Lake) followed in 20th place by crossing the line in 24:01.66. Senior Shannon McDonald (Lorain, Amherst Steele) finished 35th overall by finishing with a time of 24:16.07. Senior Stephanie Williams (Vincent, Warren Local) was the fourth Marietta runner to finish. She took 39th with a time of 24:38.30. Freshman Lydia Tillmaand (Xenia, Xenia) rounded out the scoring with a 42nd place finish after running a time of 24:56.33.

Marietta will close out its season Saturday (Nov. 14) when the Pioneers compete at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional in Terre Haute, Ind. Action begins at 11 a.m.