The Anderson men finished 14th in the 35-team field while the Raven women were 27th in the 36-team meet at Otterbein College in

Kirk Saunders led the Raven men with a 38th place finish in a time of 26:09 and Candace DeLong led the AU women with an 84th place finish in 23:35.

Other AU women finishers were Christie Tyler (175th, 25:24), Heather Quinlan (183rd, 25:32), Casey Gillespie (190th, 25:40), Desiree Maran (212th, 26:41), Nacole Hamilton (223rd, 27:28) and Keri Phillips (229th, 27:56).

Other Raven men’s finishers were Eric Linn (64th, 26:37), Matt St. Amour (88th, 27:00), Emby Duncan (100th, 27:15), Marc St. Amour (140th, 27: 36), Ryan Daugherty (155th, 27:56) and Kevin Ikerd (181st, 28:24).

For complete team and individual results go to the 2011 Schedule/Results page on the AU athletic web site

Manchester won the championship, defeating Franklin 50-69, followed by Hanover (74), Anderson (147), Bluffton (152), Earlham (163), Defiance (165), Transylvania (176), Rose-Hulman (194) and Mt. St. Joseph (265).

“The kids competed hard and gave our best effort,” said AU coach Scott Wilson. “We had some personal best times and overall it was a good effort.”

Candace DeLong led the Ravens with a second place finish in 23:58 and was named All-Conference.

Other AU finishers were Casey Gillespie (25th, 25:32), Christie Tyler (37th, 26:33), Heather Quinlan (47th, 27:10), Keri Phillips (61st, 27:43), Desiree Maran (73rd, 28:45) and Nacole Hamilton (78th, 29:26).

For complete individual results go to HCAC

Located only four miles from the Anderson campus, the 290 acre park has been home for AU’s Cross Country  training and racing for decades.

The Park has not only been the center for Cross Country running for AU, but for the local high schools and running clubs alike.

Senior captain Candace DeLong (Headshot below) said she is excited about Mounds: “I’ve been running all my life,” said the Frankton High School graduate, “I expect that having the Championship at Mounds will attract local attention from both family and friends.”

Senior captain Emby Duncan (Delta High School) added: “I cannot wait to host an important meet at Mounds. It’s cool to be able to run at a place you know so well.”

Where Indiana is known for its level terrain, Mounds’ location near the winding White River supplies runners with hilly trails complemented by flat open spaces and densely wooded surroundings.

“Mounds is a great resource for our Cross Country teams,” remarks AU’s Head Coach Scott Wilson. “Being off cement is easier on the joints and having hills to run up and down makes a runner stronger.” AU Hall of Fame, and now retired coach, Larry Maddox makes it clear that “running at Mounds is true Cross Country.” He continues, “It is challenging and at the same time rewarding because it extracts from you both the best mentally and physically.”

Another AU alum who knows this place well is current Hanover College coach, Josh Payne (Arcanum HS, OH/1995 AU graduate). He said, “You need to be a well-rounded runner to do well at Mounds. It is not a track on grass.” 1998 Conference Champion Monica Hostetler (Lakeland HS/1999 AU graduate) said, “I have run in parks all over the world, but Mounds State Park will always be one of my favorites. The beauty of the fall leaves and tree lined paths made even the most grueling cross country workouts feel serene.” Current Frankton High School CC Coach and AU athletic Hall of Famer Brian Williams (Lapel High School/1987 AU graduate) stated: “I find Mounds to be a special place to run.”

(Pictured left) Lisa (Nicholson) Bodach (Anderson Highland HS/ 2004 AU graduate) a 3-time conference champion including the 2001 year which was the last time conference was held at Mounds said, “It was exciting to see the spectators run from one spot to another during a race.”

No matter what you find to be special about Mounds, memories will surely be made this fall through training as well as on October 29^th at the HCAC Championships.

*The HCAC is a collection of 10 schools, six of which reside in the state of Indiana. These include: Anderson University, Bluffton University (OH), Defiance College (OH), Earlham College, Franklin College, Hanover College, Manchester College, College of Mt St Joseph (OH), Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, Transylvania University (KY)

*  Women’s 6K Race – 12pm Start at Mounds Park

*  Men’s 8K Race – 1pm Start at Mounds Park

Mounds State Park Pass – In State Plates $5 per vehicle – Out of State Plates $7

Kirk Saunders led the Raven men with a fifth-place finish in a time of 25:24.20. Candace DeLong led the AU women with a 16th place finish in a time of 19:18.81.

Other AU men’s finishers were Matt St. Amour (50th, 26:39), Eric Linn (51st, 26:45), Emby Duncan (63rd, 27:05), Marc St. Amour (84th, 27:22), Kevin Ikerd (91st, 27:29) and  Ryan Daugherty (109th, 27:51).

Other Raven women finishers were Casey Gillespie (73rd, 20:51), Christie Tyler (97th, 21:26), Heather Quinlan (113th, 21:40), Keri Phillips (165th, 22:50), Nacole Hamilton (174th, 23:11) and Desiree Maran (200th, 24:15).

AU hosts the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships on at Mounds State Park on Oct. 27.

For complete team results go to: Wilmington Results

Kirk Saunders won the men’s race in a time of 26:27 and Candace DeLong won the women’s event in a time of19:53.

Other AU men’s finishers were Matt St. Amour (5th, 27:11),  Erin Linn (7th, 27:20), Emby Duncan (12th, 27:34), Marc St. Amour (17th, 27:58), Jeremiah Stichter (26th, 28:29), Kevin Ikerd (28th, 28:43), Ryan Daugherty (42nd, 29:32), Patrick Smith (59th, 30:53), Corey Black (63rd, 31:07) and Dylan Frame (75th, 32:31).

Wabash won themen’s meet with 34 points, followed by Anderson (42), Rose-Hulman (68), Earlham (98), IU-East (137) and Oakland City (176).

Other AU women’s finishers were Casey Gillespie (6th, 21:32), Christie Tyler (7th, 21:45), Heather Quinlan (9th, 21:55), Keri Phillips (13th, 22:21), Nacole Hamilton (23rd, 23:36) and Desiree Maran (28th, 25:10).

AU finished with 36 points, followed by Earlham (45), Rose-Hulman (51), IU-East (98) and Oakland City (137).

Women’s Results

Men’s Results

AU runs at the Wilmington Invitational on Oct. 14 at 4 p.m.

“Our effort was good and I thought we did well,” said AU coach Scott Wilson. “Our focus right now is on training and I believe our race times will come down over the season.”

Candace DeLong led the Ravens with a 57th place finish in 19:42.

“To break 20 minutes on a course early in the season is great for her and she was within 10 seconds of the top conference runner,” said Wilson.

Other AU finishers were Christie Tyler (114th, 21:24), Casey Gillespie (125th, 21:50), Heather Quinlan (126th, 21:50), Keri Phillips (151st, 23:37), Nacole Hamilton (24:18) and Desiree Maron (163rd, 25:16).

AU runs at the Earlham Invitational on Oct. 1 at 11 a.m.

The duo of Emby Duncan and Kirk Saunders combined to finish sixth in the pairs race in a time of 30:01. Duncan ran splits of 5:04, 5:02 and 5:02 while Saunders breakout miles were 4:48, 5:02 and 5:01.

Other AU pairs to finish were Eric Linn/Marc St. Amour (11th, 30:18), Ryan Daugherty/Matt St. Amour (31st, 32:10), Dylan Frame/Patrick Smith (36th, 32:45).

For the women, Candace DeLong and Heather Quinlan combined to finish in 10th place in a time of 24:40. DeLong’s miles were 5:46 and 6:07 while Quinlan’s were 6:15 and 6:30.

Other AU pairs to finish were Casey Gillespie and Christie Tyler (21st, 26:21), Desiree Maran/Keri Phillips (34th, 28:38),

AU runs in the Indiana Intercollegiates meet in Bloomington on Sept. 16 at 3:30 p.m.

The men defeated the Beavers 15-50 while the women’s team was victorious by a score of 23-33.

Candace DeLong won the women’s meet in a time of 25:13 and Kirk Saunders won the men’s race in 28:46.

Both teams complete at the Wabash Invitational on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m.

Manchester was picked to finish first in the men’s poll with 97 points and eight first-place votes. They were followed by Anderson (85), Franklin (82), Rose-Hulman (76), Defiance (57), Earlham (51), Hanover (42), Mt. St. Joseph (28), Transylvania (19) and Bluffton (13).

The Spartans were also selected first in the women’s poll with 97 points and eight first-place votes. They were followed by Hanover (89), Defiance (83), Franklin (65) Anderson (56), Transylvania (52), Rose-Hulman (47), Earlham (31), Bluffton (17) and Mt. St. Joseph (13).

AU opens the season with their own invitational at Mounds State Park on Sept. 1 at 6 p.m.