![CWRU Wins Mike Woods Invitational](/sports/mxc/2022-23/photos/BegleyOBE1.jpeg?max_width=640)
From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The top five Case Western Reserve University runners broke 26 minutes on Saturday afternoon as the Spartans capitalized on a strong team performance to win the Mike Woods Invitational at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, New York.
Running as a close pack among the leaders for the majority of the 8K race, the Spartans notched three top-10 finishes and five inside the top 30 among the 365 runners at the meet to record their most impressive performance of the season to date.
CWRU finished with a score of 62 to win the meet, placing ahead of second-place and 19th-ranked Geneseo (68 points) and third-place and 34th-ranked Middlebury (95 points). Washington and Lee (154 points) and Franklin Pierce (167 points) rounded out the top-five teams at the meet.
Senior Jack Begley was the top CWRU finisher, placing third overall with a time of 24:49.3, the third-fastest mark of his career. Sophomore Aidan Nathan followed in sixth place with a career-best time of 25:06.1, with senior Robert St. Clair finishing right behind in seventh place with a time of 25:08.3, just under a second off his career-best mark.
Completing the top five for the Spartans were seniors Joe Jaster and Liam O'Reilly, who each recorded career-best times, with the former finishing 19th in a mark of 25:33.4 and the latter crossing the line in 27th place with a time of 25:47.9. Sophomore Nate Gilbert finished 47th overall with a time of 26:09.8 and senior Logan Singer placed 51st with a time of 26:16.1 to round out the top seven for CWRU.
Also finishing on Saturday for CWRU were junior Stephen Henry (58th, 26:23.8), graduate student Anthony Hart (73rd, 26:33.6), sophomore Hans Holst (107th, 27:00.4), first-year Ben Smith (121st, 27:18.5), first-year Danny Becker (27:43.3), and first-year Solomon Greene (29:08.6).
Franklin Pierce's Wondu Summa won the men's 8K race with a time of 24:40.7.