POWELL, Ohio - The Wittenberg men's and women's cross country teams posted matching eighth-place finishes among strong competition on Saturday at the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational held at Liberty Park in Powell, Ohio. Freshman Jacob Kuntz (Versailles, Ky./Woodford) paced the men in 26th while freshman Shannon Kelleher (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) led the women for the second straight race in 39th.
The invitational included runners from women's champion NCAA Division II Ashland University, fellow North Coast Athletic Conference members Denison, Kenyon, Oberlin, Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan, along with regional opponents Capital, Kalamazoo, Baldwin-Wallace, Manchester, Albion, Juniata, Ohio Dominican and men's champion Hope.
Kuntz crossed the eight-kilometer finish line with a time of 26:43.9, while Kelleher finished the five-kilometer women's race in 19:52.1.
Behind Kelleher, junior Darcy Dubuc (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) finished 46th with a time of 20:04.2. Sophomore Amy Stamon (Louisville, Ky./Assumption), junior Anna Henry (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) and freshman Maggie McIlvain (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) crossed in 51st, 52nd and 53rd respectively, all at approximately 20:07.
Other notable finishes from the women included freshman Molly King (Springfield, Ohio/Northeastern) (74th) and sophomore Chelsey Williams (Fort Wayne, Ind./Canterbury) (88th).
Kuntz was followed by junior Jarret Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) at 26:56.5 in 34th, freshman Wade Westbrook (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) at 27:01.0 in 36th, and senior Kevin Frick (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) at 27:08.1 in 38th.
Other notable finishes for the men included sophomore Adam Markins (Chillicothe, Ohio/Union Scioto) (64th) and junior Kyler Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) (88th).
The Tiger teams head north to Grand Rapids, Mich., for the Calvin Invitational hosted by Calvin University at their own Gainey Athletic Complex on Sept. 18.