Women’s Cross Country Cruises at Yellow Jacket Open

DEFIANCE, Ohio – In their first conventional cross country race of the season, the Lady Jacket harriers clinched their first Yellow Jacket Open team title on record, and in dominant fashion. Defiance tallied 19 total points with four of the top-five finishers, and seven of the top-nine.

DC's Kaitlin Switzer got her senior season off to a great start with her first-career cross country individual title. The Defiance, Ohio native crushed her previous personal-record by 46 second as she outpaced the rest of the field by more than a minute with a time of 19:56.

After Goshen College's Karla Folker crossed the line at 21:00 for a second-place finish, DC's Ericha Griep (21:11), Ellen Stryffeler (21:17), Kaye Bockbrader (21:32) and Kara Suffel (21:39) finished in the 3-6 spots respectively to give Defiance the convincing victory.

Bluffton's Heather Smith led the Beavers with a time of 21:40 for a seventh-place finish, while DC's Erica DeBos and Kate Busto finished in 21:41 and 21:42 respectively to claim the eighth and ninth-place spots.

Goshen College placed second in the team rankings with 48 combined points, while HCAC foe, Bluffton University, recorded 75 points for a third-place finish.

The cross country team will compete at the Penn-State Behrend Meet next Saturday, September 18, with a scheduled start time of 11:00 a.m.