WESTERVILLE, Ohio — The Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Cross Country Championship marked the start of fall championship competition, and the hosting Otterbein University Cardinals made themselves at home on their home turf at the Dave and Claudia Lehman Cross Country Course. Otterbein senior Payne Ratliff ran the fastest race for the individual title and helped lead the Cardinals to their 12th OAC Cross Country Championship.

Otterbein took the team title for the first time since repeating as OAC Champions in 2018 and 2019. The Cardinals were comfortable on their home course as all five of the team's scoring runners placed within the top 16 individuals, including four top-10 performances. The team's 40 points cleared second place by 25 points as Ratliff (1st), Mitch Green (4th), Caleb Rafferty (9th), Corey Rafferty (10th), and Brady Pugh (16th) all earned All-OAC honors.

Ratliff became the first Cardinal to pace the OAC men's cross country field since Chase Hampton led the way in 2019. The senior stopped the clock at 25:21.1, over six seconds speedier than the second-place mark. Ratliff's victory secured a second straight spot on the All-OAC First Team, improving upon his sixth-place finish from last season.

The top 10 individual runners earned first-team All-OAC recognition, while the next 10 finishers comprised the All-OAC Second Team.

Men's All-OAC First Team Honorees: 

Payne Ratliff (Otterbein), OAC Champion

Jacob Clouse (Ohio Northern)

Stephen Ulrich (Mount Union)

Mitch Green (Otterbein)

Dillon Hach (Baldwin Wallace)

Tate Yoder (Wilmington)

Caleb Cabrera (Mount Union)

Gabe Moore (Wilmington)

Caleb Rafferty (Otterbein)

Corey Rafferty (Otterbein)

Men's All-OAC Second Team Honorees: 

Sam Sikorski (Baldwin Wallace)

Matthew Tschantz (Mount Union)

Dudley Bravard (Ohio Northern)

Andrew Piehler (Baldwin Wallace)

Gabe Ghering (Baldwin Wallace)

Brady Pugh (Otterbein)

Mikey Arnone (Capital)

Chip Smith (Capital)

Chris Bond (Ohio Northern)

Jake Parkhurst (Mount Union)

The battle for second place in the team standings was tight as The University of Mount Union and Baldwin Wallace University were separated by just two points. Mount Union claimed silver with 65 team points, while Baldwin Wallace brought in bronze with 67 points. Ohio Northern University (107 points) finished fourth, followed by Capital University (121 points) in fifth. Wilmington College (158 points) placed sixth ahead of Heidelberg University (165 points), while Marietta College (247 points) and Muskingum University (262 points) rounded out the nine-team standings.

Up next, teams will compete at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, November 15.