Tiger Cross Country Teams Take Matching Runner-Up Spots At NCAC Meet
TERRE HAUTE, IN - Wittenberg's men's and women's cross country teams recorded a pair of strong performances at the 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championships with a pair of second-place finishes. The meet was hosted by DePauw University at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, IN.
Wittenberg's women were looking for their third straight NCAC cross country title. Despite significant graduation losses from the 2023 championship team, the Tigers came up just short in 2024 as the Tigers placed second in the eight-team field after scoring 49 points. Pre-championship favorite and event host DePauw won the conference crown with 26 points.
Senior Megan Keys (Dublin, OH/Jerome) led the way for Wittenberg's women as she placed a team-best fourth overall with a time of 22:28.03, making her a three-time All-NCAC honoree. Keys captured first-team recognition in 2023 and third-team accolades in 2022. On the heels of Keys, sophomore Maddi Clark (Mentor, OH/Mentor) made her All-NCAC debut with a fifth-place finish in a time of 22:32.04. Junior Emma Hawk (Marion, OH/River Valley) rounded out Wittenberg's top-10 finishers, placing seventh with a mark of 22:55.55 to earn first-team All-NCAC honors. Hawk repeated as a first-team honoree from 2023 after also collecting second-team laurels in 2022.
Junior Mackenzie Kelley (Altoona, PA/Altoona Area), notched a 14th-place finish and tallied second-team All-NCAC accolades with a time of 23:30.31. The three other scorers for Witt in the women's competition included Alex Couch (Howard, OH/Mount Vernon) in 23rd place, Emily Zmuda (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Davidson) in 30th place, and Abigail Davison (Reynoldsburg, OH/Reynoldsburg) in 40th place.
On the men's side, Wittenberg claimed a second-place finish with 51 points, just 10 points shy of the team champion Oberlin with 41 points. The runner-up finish is the Tigers' best team finish since winning the NCAC men's cross country crown in 1996.
Senior Conor Kolka (Dexter, MI/Dexter) paced the Tigers, placing fourth with a time of 25:37.87, making him the only four-time first-team All-NCAC honoree this season. Lukas Rieben (Clayton, OH/Northmont) made his All-NCAC debut, placing sixth on the afternoon with a time of 25:51.21.
Freshman Brandon Anderson (Dexter, MI/Dexter) excelled in his first NCAC championship meet, as he was named the 2024 NCAC Newcomer of the Year after securing an eighth-place finish with a time of 26:04.24. With this impressive feat, Anderson is Wittenberg's first-ever NCAC Men's Cross Country Newcomer of the Year.
Junior Lucas Eisele (Dayton, OH/West Carrollton) picked up second-team All-NCAC honors with a 13th-place finish in a time of 26:29.29, while senior Adam Arndt (Connersville, IN/Connersville) earned third-team All-NCAC honors in 20th-place with a time of 26:54.23.
Freshman Kamren Graham (Shaker Heights, OH/Shaker Heights) and Zayden Taylor (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) were the Tigers' other two scorers in the meet, as Graham finished 36th and Taylor 40th.
Next up for the Tigers is the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships in Shelbyville, Indiana, on Saturday, November 16. The race is set to start at 11 a.m.