CEDARVILLE, Ohio – The Wittenberg cross country teams got big results on a short trip to the All-Ohio Championships at nearby Cedarville University on Friday. The men finished eighth among 21 NCAA Division III teams in the field while the women were 13th.
With university president Laurie Joyner, Ph.D., on hand to deliver the pre-race pep talk and a crowd of fans that included Wittenberg students, coaches and administrators, the Tigers had plenty of support in the race.
Capitalizing on the friendly crowd and fair conditions, men's freshman Jon Osman (Troy, Ohio/Troy) led the way with an individual finish of 19th among 140 Div. III participants. He crossed the finish line in a time of 26:48.45 on the eight-kilometer Cedarville University Cross Country Course.
Leading the women was senior Shannon Kelleher (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) on a time of 25:13.94, good for a place of 56th overall and 55th among runners competing for a team finish. Wilmington College did not compete as a team.
For the men, Osman was followed in 38th place by senior Jacob Kuntz (Versailles, Ky./Woodford) on a time of 27:22.12. Rounding out the top three finishers was freshman Nick Molnar (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington), who stopped his clock just after Kuntz in 40th place with a time of 27:26.06.
Also scoring for Wittenberg were senior Wade Westbrook (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) in 57th and junior Adam Kapuscinski (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) with a finish of 69th.
On the women's side, Kelleher finished just ahead of senior Maggie McIlvain (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool), who turned in a time of 25:54.70 to finish 70th/69th. Behind McIlvain came sophomore Megan Heitkemper (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) in 86th/85th with a final mark of 26:38.77.
Filling out the Tiger scorers were freshmen Erin Hord (Madison, Ohio/Madison) in 90th/89th and Kalie McDorman (Springfield, Ohio/Kenton Ridge) in 92nd/91st.
The Tiger teams take a two-week intermission before heading to Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio, for an invitational on Friday, Oct. 18.
John Strawn '07