SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tiger men's and women's cross country teams defended their home-away-from-home turf with a pair of convincing wins in the Wittenberg Invitational at John Bryan State Park in nearby Yellow Springs.
It was the second straight Wittenberg Invitational title for the Tiger women, while the Tiger men rose to the top of the pack for the second time in the last three years, following up on the win in 2007.
Wittenberg runners were the top seven finishers in the women's five-kilometer race. Sophomores Anna Henry (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston), Darcy Dubuc (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) and Mary Pfeifer (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) took the top three places in times of 19:23, 19:26 and 19:41, respectively. Freshman Biz Goodbarn (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Highlands Ranch) was the fourth Wittenberg runner to break the 20-minute barrier as she placed fourth.
Rounding out Wittenberg's top seven in the women's race were freshmen Amy Stamon (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) and Mary Swoyer (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mufflin) in fifth and sixth and sophomore Jordan Stafford (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) in seventh.
On the men's side, junior Kevin Frick (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) captured the individual title in the eight-kilometer race in a time of 26:34, followed by sophomore Jarrett Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) in a time of 27:38. Freshman Trevor Grandy (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) was third in 27:53, followed by junior Daniel Whonstetler (Prospect, Ky./Sacred Heart) in fourth with a time of 27:55 and junior Andrew Carter (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) in fifth with a time of 27:59.
Wittenberg men's runners took 14 of the top 20 places in the invitational.
The 2009 season, which started last week at the University of Dayton, continues on Friday, Sept. 18 at Michigan State.