Junior Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), the first female runner in school history to ever qualify for the NCAA Division III Championship Meet a year ago, made a return trip to the biggest meet of the year last week. Running amongest a loaded, 213-athlete field at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., Gerstle improved upon her 2000 finish, crossing the line in 108th place with a time of 18:37, which was less than two second behind her personal best time recorded a week earlier at the Great Lakes Regional Championship Meet.

The fine NCAA finish capped an outstanding season for the junior co-captain. Gerstle became the first Wittenberg runner to win an individual North Coast Athletic Conference championship, and she followed that with a strong finish and personal best time at the regional meet. She led the Tigers in every meet in which she competed this season.