The Wittenberg men's and women's cross country teams are heading into the stretch run of the 2005 season with what the runners and Head Coach Steve Shutt hope can be considered a head of steam. In the last two weeks, the Tigers have prepped with solid finishes in deep fields at the Maroon Invitational at Roanoke College and at the Quaker Invitational at Earlham College.
This week, the Tigers will get a good idea of where they stand in the North Coast Athletic Conference and the Great Lakes Region when they compete in the All-Ohio Championships on Friday at Ohio Wesleyan University. Seven of the 10 schools in the NCAC will be in action in the huge annual meet in nearby Delaware.
On the men's side, sophomore Mike Echols (Springfield, Ohio/North) continues to lead the charge. He has finished first among Tiger runners in every meet of his collegiate career, including the last two weeks at Roanoke and Earlham. He has two top-five finishes on the season - in the Wittenberg Invitational at John Bryan State Park and at the Broughton Invitational at Marietta College - with his best time of 28:00 recorded in the home meet. Sophomore Mike Wismer (Avon, Ohio/Avon) was the second Tiger finisher in the first four meets, while sophomore Shawn Hils (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood) took team runner-up honors at Earlham.
On the women's side, the last two meets have featured freshmen Abby McCutcheon (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) and Jessica Rizzo (Benningtor, Ind./South Dearborn) in the top two spots. McCutcheon has led Wittenberg in four of the five meets so far this season, and freshmen have accounted for three of the team's five scorers in each of the five events. Freshman Erin Hedrick (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) led Wittenberg in the first meet of the year, and she has continued to run well despite some struggles due to illness.