The Wittenberg University Tigers men's cross country team finished 24th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship Meet last weekend in Hanover, Ind. The women's team wound up 21st in the competition.

The highlight of the meet for the Tigers was the tremendous performance of sophomore Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), who crossed the finish line in 19:06. That put her in eighth place in the entire field and qualified her for the NCAA Division III National Championship Meet in Spokane, Wash. this weekend.

Following Gerstle in the pack was junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), who finished in 20:51, freshman Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall), who ran the course in a time of 21:39, and Melanie Ziarko (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood), who wound up with a time of 21:41.

On the men's side, sophomore Nick DeWald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) completed a solid campaign with a 40th-place finish in a time of 27:18. He was followed by junior Dave Hyde (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central), who crossed the line in 27:55 and 78th place.