FAIRBORN — Led by former Wilmington High School standout Simon Heys, the Wilmington College men’s cross country team opened the season with a fifth-place finish at the Mike Baumer Cross Country Classic Friday evening.

The Quakers had five runners finish in the top 60 which led them to scoring 159 points. Ohio State came away with the victory, scoring only 33 points followed by Dayton, Cedarville and Oakland respectively.

Heys was the man of the meet with a first-place finish in his first race of the 2022 campaign. Beating out Dayton runner Sam Duncan, Heys took the victory in 15:01.1. After claiming three victories in the 2021-2022 season, Heys has started the collection early this year.

Noah Tobin led the trail pack for the Quakers as he finished in 15:27.4 (19th). Fellow junior Eric Reynolds crossed shortly after in a 41st place time of 15:52.3. George Rickett (57th) and freshmen duo of Tate Yoder (65th) and Jackson Nagle (76th) rounded out the scoring for the Quakers.

On the women’s side, Julia Bystrom led the Quakers finishing in 23:36 for a new personal best in the 5,000-meter run. Kaitlyn Rauch crossed the line in 25:31. Jordan Snarr and Sadie Devore finished side-by-side to round out the squad.

Wilmington will compete in Tiffin Friday.