Conor Kolka Earns NCAA Berth; Tigers Finish 11th In Region

Norton, Ohio - The Wittenberg men's cross country team came into the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Championships with some momentum coming off a third-place finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championships two weeks earlier. One of the best seasons in decades for the program culminated in an 11th-place team finish in the regional competition, highlighted by a tremendous individual performance by junior Conor Kolka (Dexter, Michigan/Dexter), who qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships.

John Carroll took first place in the region with 69 points, followed by Calvin with 82, Mount Union with 97, Hope with 169, and Case Western with 182 to round out the top five. Wittenberg's 11th-place finish (413 points) was second-best among NCAC teams, one spot behind Wabash.

Kolka broke his own 8K school record with a time of 23:58 to place fourth in a field of 278 runners. Kolka(pictured below with women's NCAA qualifier Ella Webster) becomes the fourth Wittenberg runner to qualify for nationals, joining Dale Markley in 1975, Tom Dann in 1977, and Jeremy Kaufman in 1994. Kolka earned All-Great Lakes Region honors in recognition of his performance.

Junior Adam Arndt (Connersville, Indiana/Connersville) was next for Wittenberg in 82nd place with a time of 25:22, followed by sophomore Lucas Eisele (Dayton, Ohio/West Carrollton) in 102nd place in 25:38, senior Ian McClandish (Lancaster, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) in 112th place in 25:48, and senior Peter Caine (Ypsilanti, Michigan/Lincoln) in 113th place in 25:48.