J.P. Jackson

A young Wittenberg men's cross country team head into the 2009 season hoping to build off the momentum of the program's best finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) in almost a decade. Fourth-year Head Coach Craig Penney returns most of the scoring pack from last year's squad that took seventh place at the NCAC Championships. 

Headlining the list of returners is junior Kevin Frick (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview). The 2009 co-captain enjoyed a strong fall in 2008, consistently finishing in the top two for the Tigers, including a team-best 28th place effort at the NCAC Championships.

Fellow junior and co-captainDaniel Whonsetler (Prospect, Ky./Sacred Heart) joins Frick in leading a deep junior class poised to make another stride forward in 2009. Whonstetler was a consistent member in the Tiger top-seven scoring pack a year ago.

Juniors Matt Overturf (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Benjamin Logan) and Andrew Carter (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) both have factored into the lead Red and White pack in previous seasons, and they now take on the role of team leaders. Both ran in the Tiger top-five in virtually every meet a year ago, including Carter's top performance at the Cedarville Friendship Invitational.

Senior J.P. Jackson (Solvang, Calif./Dunn) and junior Ben Hanf (Pickerington, Ohio/St. Charles) are expected to be in the mix as well.

Depth comes from a trio of sophomores who had eye-opening performances as first-years. Ryan Hagen (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island), Jarrett Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and Kyler Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) strengthen the Tiger pack.

A promising crop of freshmen also look to push the Tigers to the top half of the conference in 2009, which kicks off with a trip to the University of Dayton for the Meijer Flyer 5K on Saturday, Sept. 5, and the Wittenberg Invitational at picturesque John Bryan State Park on Saturday, Sept. 12.