Springfield, Ohio — Wittenberg University Cross Country and Track & Field Head Coach Craig Penney has announced that 24 student-athletes will join the Tiger program in August 2014.
Five of the new recruits join a cross country program that finished eighth (women) and ninth (men) in the 2013 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championships in 2013 and 25th (women) and 19th (men) in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional championships a year ago. The 2014 season is scheduled to open with the Meijer Flyer 5K Challenge, hosted by the University of Dayton at Indian Riffle Park in Kettering, Ohio, on Saturday, Aug. 30.
The cross country recruits will join the rest of the 2014 recruiting class for the track season. The most recent season was highlighted by finishes of fourth in the NCAC indoor championship meet and fifth in the NCAC outdoor championship meet for the men, while the women took fifth in both the indoor and outdoor competitions. The men went on to advance three student-athletes to NCAA Division III championship meets during the 2014 season. The 2014-15 track season is scheduled to get underway Dec. 6 at Tiffin.
The new recruits are:
- Stephanie Atkinson (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon)
- Libby Bauman (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit)
- Anissa Dann (Hiram, Maine/Sacopee Valley)
- Timothy Elliott (Springfield, Ohio/Emmanuel Christian)
- Wesley Escobar (Kissimmee, Fla./Gateway)
- Tyler Everidge (Dayton, Ohio/Bellbrook)
- Kelsey Fobean (Munroe Falls, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls)
- MacKenzie Freeman (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy)
- Madeline Goelz (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington)
- Matthew Hodge (Lucasville, Ohio/Valley)
- Levi Johnson (Kettering, Ohio/Miami Valley)
- Kyle Knudsen (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Darby)
- Madison Leatherwood (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh)
- Colleen McGeath (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central)
- Frances Neal (Coshocton, Ohio/River View)
- Jacob O’Brien (Springfield, Ohio/Emmanuel Christian)
- Jersson Pachar (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove)
- Tomas Pyle (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Woodridge)
- Sara Richards (Columbus, Ohio/Linden)
- Patrick Rittenhouse (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead)
- Justis Seitz (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh)
- Jordan Steiff (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron)
- Derek Williams (Surprise, Ariz./Paradise Honors)
“I am looking forward to welcoming this outstanding group of young men and women to the Wittenberg University community,” Penney said. “I look forward to working with them to succeed both academically and athletically.”
Written By: Ryan Maurer