Oberlin, Ohio – The Denison Big Red men's cross country team placed fourth out of 19 teams at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble on Saturday, scoring 146 points for its third straight top-five team finish. The Big Red finished just two points behind third-place Baldwin Wallace, and beat Division II Lake Erie College in the process.

Sophomore Will Jackson led Denison for the third time in as many team-scored meets, crossing the line 13th overall in 26:26.2. First-year Aaron Escalante was right behind him, finishing 18th in 26:32.6, just 6.4 seconds back. First-year Jack Blemker completed a tight front pack for Denison in 22nd place with a time of 26:43.1, giving the Big Red three runners within 17 seconds of one another.

Senior Leo Wisnefski was the fourth scorer, placing 45th in 27:07.2. Sophomore William Fontana rounded out the scoring five in 69th place with a time of 27:31.5. First-year Olma Mathewos (84th, 27:45.9) and senior Drew Carpenter (110th, 28:14.0) also ran in the Denison top seven.

Sophomore Sebastian Klimchak (119th, 28:24.8), junior Jacob Brechbill (135th, 28:46.2) and first-year Jake Hermsen (154th, 29:23.5) also ran for the Big Red.

Denison finished 14 points ahead of Kenyon, which placed fifth, and well ahead of host Oberlin, which was eighth with 213 points. Case Western Reserve won the team title with 23 points, and DePauw was second with 137.

The Big Red will compete next at the NCAC Championship, hosted by Oberlin, on Saturday, October 31, at 12:15 p.m.