Morgan Cole to defend Horizon League cross country title; Sophie Burchfield helps WCU soccer
This is the best time of the season for Youngstown State cross country standout Morgan Cole.
The graduate student from Louisville High School is looking forward to competing Saturday in the Horizon League Championship in Fairborn. And, well she should be.
Cole was named Horizon Women’s Athlete of the Year in women’s cross country last season after winning the league championship with a 6,000-meter time of 21:25.6. Prior to that, she finished sixth as a freshman, fourth as a sophomore and third as a junior in the league championship meet. She's twice earned first-team All-Horizon League and was the league’s rookie of the year as a freshman. Majoring in nursing, Cole has earned a spot on the league’s all-academic team three times.
In a tune-up prior to this year’s championship, Cole finished 54th out of 385 runners at the talent-laden Arturo Barrio’s Invitational on Oct. 13 in College Station, Texas with a personal-record 20:41.8.
Ben Ramold (Jackson) The junior and the Canisius men’s golf team wrapped up its fall season at the Sacred Heart Invitational last week. Ramold’s top effort came in the Cornell Invitational Sept. 10-11 in Watchung, N.J. when he finished 21st with a 36-hole 147 total. He opened with a 75 and then posted a college career-best score of 72 in the second round. He finished tied for 20th at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship as a freshman with a 54-hole score of 224.
Sophie Burchfield (GlenOak) The 5-foot-8 junior midfielder has played in 13 games with one start for the Western Carolina women’s soccer team (10-3-3, 7-1 Southern Conference. The team has six straight victories, giving up just one goal in that time, and leads the SoCon. Burchfield picked up her first point of the season when she had an assist in a 5-0 victory over Wofford on Oct. 1. Burchfield has played in 36 career games with six starts for Western Carolina and has three goals and two assists with a game winner.
Owen Pukys (Louisville) The sophomore posted a PR for the Dayton men’s cross country team at the Bradley Pink Race on Oct. 13 in Peoria, Ill. He covered the 8,000 meters in 25:04.9 to finish 42nd out of 240 entrants in the featured Red Race. The Flyers finished 10th out of 29 teams, Pukys was the team’s second runner to cross the finish line. Cincinnati finished fifth and was aided by sophomore Bobby Ganser (Louisville High) who was 47th with a time of 25:07.5 and was the fourth Bearcat finisher.
Nash Minor (Marlington) The freshman finished 64th out of 371 runners for Johns Hopkins at the Mike Woods Invitational last Saturday in Geneseo, N.Y. His time on the 8,000-meter course was 25:15.2. He was the seventh first-year runner to cross the finish line. The time bettered his first 8K race with the Blue Jays when he finished 111th out of 520 with a 26:24.3 clocking in the Open Race at the annual Paul Short Run Sept. 30 in Bethlehem, Pa.
Emma King (Manchester) The 5-8 sophomore forward is the leading scorer on the Akron women’s soccer team (2-12-1, 0-7-1 MAC), King has three goals for six points with a game winner. That came in Akron’s 1-0 victory over Niagara on Sept. 14.
Caitlin Bruni (Jackson) The junior has started 14 games for the Akron women's soccer team and has an assist. That came on the game-winning goal in a 3-1 victory over Cleveland State on Aug. 18.
Iosefa Saipaia (McKinley) The sophomore has seen action on defense off the bench in all six games for the Ferris State (Mich.) football team (4-2, 2-1). The 6-1, 220-pound linebacker had five tackles in a recent 42-21 loss to Grand Valley State. On the season, Saipaia has 16 tackles, six unassisted, with one for a loss.
Camille Smith (Lake) The 5-7 sophomore midfielder has played in all 14 games with four starts for the Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) women’s soccer team (8-2-4, 3-1-3 Presidents’ Athletic Conference). Smith picked up her first point of her college career when she had an assist in a 3-0 non-conference victory over La Roche on Sept. 3. This is her first season with the team.
Ian Paul (Central Catholic) The John Carroll sophomore finished 117th out of 377 runners at the Division III Pre-Nationals on Oct. 7 in Newville, Pa. His 8,000-meter time was 26:32.1. Paul had his best 8K time of the season, 26:20.4, when he finished 78th out of 468 entries at the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Challenge on Sept. 15 in Cedarville. This is his first season running cross country for the Blue Streaks after competing in track both indoors and outdoors last season.
Jarren Daniels (Alliance) The senior played defense most of his first three seasons with the Thiel football team (2-5, 2-5 Presidents’ Athletic Conference) before moving to the offensive line at the end of last season. The 6-5, 255-pound senior is starting on the O-line this season. Daniels played 27 games at defensive tackle previously and had 64 tackles (46 unassisted) along with two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Jessica Ickes (Lake Center Christian) The 6-0 sophomore middle hitter leads the Lake Erie women’s volleyball team in solo blocks with18 and total blocks with 40.1. She has played in 17 matches and 60 sets for the Storm (3-18, 2-8 Great Midwest Athletic Conference). She is fourth on the team in kills with 64, has 26 digs, five service aces and has scored 98.0 points. As a freshman, Ickes had 89 kills and led the team in solo blocks (28), assisted blocks (59) and total blocks (87).
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Morgan Cole ready for Horizon League Cross Country Championships
