UW Oshkosh sophomore Allison Van Der Wegen won the Ripon Red Hawk Open Nov. 7, while both the women’s and men’s cross country teams claimed first place in the team events at the Tuscumbia Golf Course in Green Lake.
Wegen won the women’s 6,000-meter race with a time of 24:17.3 while the Titans claimed the team title with 17 points.
UWO’s Emma Boegh took second place with a time of 25:16.22 while Zoe Watson finished right behind her in third place with a time of 25:16.27. Oshkosh’s Ella Galazewski claimed fourth place in 26:03.66 while Julia Strasser, UWO’s final point scorer, finished eighth with a time of 26:34.13.
On the men’s side, the Titans claimed the team title in the 8,000-meter race with a perfect score of 15 points and UWO was led by junior John Thill, who claimed second place with a time of 26:40.64.
Oshkosh’s Alex Arndt finished third in 27:14.48 while Aaron Nehls took fourth with a time of 27:42.17. UWO claimed nine of the top 10 finishers, including Ben O’Brien, who finished fifth in 28:24.64, and Connor Reed, who came in sixth place with a time of 28:40.13.
The men’s race was won by UWO alumnus Jason Ford, who was racing as an independent and finished with a time of 26:38.36.
UWO senior Amelia Lehman, who won the women’s Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference individual championship Nov. 2 and did not race at the Ripon Red Hawk Open, said that she has been spending the last few weeks preparing for the NCAA Division III North Regional Championship on Nov. 16.
“I have been running easy on the off days and trying to stay strong on the hard days,” Lehman said. “I am also eating the right amount of food and getting at least eight hours each night. For preparing mentally, I am replaying that [WIAC] race in my head over and over to give me confidence. I am also journaling and giving myself affirmations saying that ‘I got this’ and ‘I am powerful and strong.’”
Lehman said that when she runs, she is constantly thinking.
“When I am racing, I repeat my mantras over and over,” Lehman said. “My mantras this time [at the WIAC meet] were ‘this will be tough, but you are tougher,’ ‘my name is Amelia and I am fast,’ ‘I am the best one out here,’ and ‘no one can do what I can do.’”
The Titans will hit the road Nov. 16 for the NCAA Division III North Regional Championship in Northfield, Minnesota, at the Cowling Arboretum, with the men’s race scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
