The Wittenberg men's and women's cross country teams put the finishing touches on the 2005 season last week at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional championship meet. The meet was hosted by Wilmington College.
No Tiger runners qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship meet, which is scheduled for Nov. 17 at Ohio Wesleyan University. The Tiger women finished 24th in the 31-team field 677 team points. Freshman Erin Hedrick (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) topped the women's finishers, placing 94th in a time of 23:47. The next Wittenberg finisher was senior Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer), who crossed the finish line in 24:30, good for 130th place.
The Tiger men finished 27th in a 34-team field 756 team points. Sophomore Mike Echols (Springfield, Ohio/North) rounded out his second season in the Red & White with yet another top finish among Tiger runners, placing 86th in 26:59. Echols has now led Wittenberg in every meet the last two years. The Tigers' next-best finisher was sophomore Shawn Hils (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood), who crossed the tape in 27:49, good for 140th place.