Wittenberg University's men's and women's cross country teams both ran well despite the hot, humid conditions at the Flyer 5K Challenge, hosted Saturday by the University of Dayton.

Leading the men's squad, which finished first among Division III teams in the competition, was sophomore Nick DeWald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior), who crossed the finish line eighth with a time of 16:54. Kevin Tscholl of Dayton paced the field in 16:08.

Also finishing among the top 20 were junior David Hyde (Naperville, Ill./Central), who finished 14th with a time of 17:36, junior Luke Clarkson (Bascom, Ohio/Hopewell-Louden), who ran an 18:40 and finished 18th, and junior Scott Huntoon (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor), who ran an 18:53, good for 19th.

On the women's side, Wittenberg also paced the Division III field. Junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) crossed the finish line in 20:53, good for 11th. Tara Storage of Dayton topped the field with a time of 19:28.

Seven Tigers ran among the top 21 runners in the race. Junior Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), senior Katie McClain (Westlake, Ohio/Westlake), freshman Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall), freshman Libby Weaver (Portland, Ind./Jay County), senior Amy Sonnanstine (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Canton) and freshman Jenny Brill (Worthington, Ohio/Worthington) rounded out the squad's top finishers.

After the fine start, the Wittenberg harriers will try to carry that momentum over onto their home course. The Wittenberg Invitational takes place Sept. 9, with fellow North Coast Athletic Conference squads Ohio Wesleyan and Earlham participating.