SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – As they have for several seasons, the Wittenberg cross country teams opened their 2014 campaigns at the University of Dayton' Meijer Flyer 5K Challenge at Indian Riffle Park in Kettering, Ohio.
The men finished second among three teams in the intercollegiate division, behind division winner Denison and ahead of Capital. The women finished in the same fashion, though Capital fielded a team of just four runners.
Ohio State's women won the NCAA Division I class and Louisville won the men's side. The rest of the field included Miami (Ohio), Dayton, Northern Kentucky and Wright State.
Sophomore Erin Hord (Madison, Ohio/Madison) led the Tiger women in 40th place among the entire field and fourth in the intercollegiate division. She finished with a time of 21:18.8.
Behind Hord, sophomore Hannah Meier (North Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon) finished 62nd overall and ninth in the intercollegiate division on a time of 22:57.2, and junior Megan Heitkemper (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) was 64th/10th at 23:19.4. Freshman Stephanie Atkinson (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) was 66th/11th and sophomore Korie Sharrar (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer) rounded out the top five for Wittenberg at 66th/12th.
For the men, sophomore Jon Osman (Troy, Ohio/Troy) picked up where he left off last season by leading the Tigers in a finish of 50th overall and third in the intercollegiate division on a time of 16:56.3. He was followed by senior Adam Kapuscinski (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) in 66th/7th at 17:34.6 and senior Andrew Ziminski (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany ) in 72nd/11th with a time of 17:51.9. Sophomore Ethan Raines (Maineville, Ohio/Little Miami) finished 80th/13th and senior Austin Butler (Carroll, Ohio/Bloom Carroll) was 82nd/14th to round out the top five.
The Tigers next head to the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 6. The men's race is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. followed by the women's at 11:30 a.m. in Liberty Park in Delaware, Ohio.
John Strawn '07