Shelbyville, IN- The Tigers headed out to Indiana for their final race of the year at the NCAA Regional meet. The last time Wittenberg saw Regional action was in 2019 where the women placed 21st of 37, their best since 2011 and the men finished 26th out of 37 teams for a best finish since 2016.
The Tigers would continue to look to freshmen Conor Kolka on the men's side and Lauren Welker on the women's side, both who finished in the top 25 at the NCAC Championship meet with Kolka earning NCAC First Team honors. Kolka looked to be a top seven finishers to automatically qualify for NCAA DIII Championship action.
The Men- Wittenberg top their best finish since 1998 with a team total of 490 points and a 16th place finish. The Tigers had an average time of 26:54 with a five-man gap of 2:29 and finishes of 27, 67, 72, 154, 179, 185, and 190. Kolka led the way with a 27th place finish and time of 25:35.5. The freshman missed out on qualifying for Nationals but will look for his opportunity over the next three years as a Tiger. Following Kolka was Cullen Sainey at 26:23.5 for 67 points. Seconds behind was Ryan Zimmerman as Wittenberg's third runner at 26:27.5. Coming in at number four for the Tigers was Evan Cordle at 27:45.1 and crossing the line as the number five runner was Trenton Brown at 28:13.9.
The Women- The women came out of the starting box fast with an average team time of 24:16 and a three-place improvement with a team finish of 18th. Wittenberg had finishes of 81, 99, 104, 108, 109, 145, and 177. Lauren Welker led the way with the top finish for the Red & White at 81st and a time of 23:47.4. Following Welker was Megan Keys at 99th and time of 24:12.2. Elizabeth Canright was Wittenberg's third runner at 24:23.6. Coming in back-to-back were Corin Turkovich and Sydney Khosla with a time difference of .8. The Tigers had a 41 second five-man gap for a total of 487 points.
Head Coach, Paris Hilliard says "I am extremely proud of this group of men and women. After not placing as well at the conference championship meet, I was thrilled how we responded today. This was a big step for our program. The men had the highest regional finish in over 20 years and our women had the highest regional finish in 10 years. Freshman, Conor Kolka came through in a big way, being named All-Region. This was a great finish to our season."
Up Next- The Tigers will look to transition into the indoor track season with their first meet of the year coming up on December 4th in the Steemer as they host the Tiger Opener.