Megan Shubitowski
CANTON, Ohio - While their final placement in the team standings did not meet the Wittenberg Tigers' pre-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) goals, the final day of competition provided plenty of highlights.
The Tiger men fell from third place, a position they held at the end of competition on Thursday and Friday, to fifth in the final standings, a mere 9.5 behind Allegheny and 26 back of Wabash for third place. Denison and Kenyon held their customary positions at the top, although for the second straight year it was the Big Red coming out on top.
The Tiger women held firm to fourth place, 137 points behind third-place Wooster but comfortably ahead of Allegheny and Oberlin. Denison and Kenyon were also atop the standings on the women's side, again with the Big Red claiming the top spot.
The best individual finish for a Wittenberg student-athlete in the entire NCAC Championship meet was turned in by junior Megan Shubitowski (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson), who placed second for All-NCAC honors in the 1-meter diving competition. That was on top of her second-place finish in the 3-meter event on Thursday.
The other Wittenberg student-athletes to collect all-conference honors were the four members of the men's 400-yard freestyle relay, who claimed third place. Seniors Taylor Smith (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior), Bobby Ritzi (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) and Neil Anderson (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) teamed with junior Zachary Stewart (Vincennes, Ind./Vincennes) to post a time of 3:09.39.
Anderson added an NCAA B cut time in the 200-yard butterfly. His time of 1:54.64 was good for fourth place and bettered the provisional qualifying standard by .07. Anderson has never competed in the NCAA Division III Championships, despite posting B cut times in each of his four collegiate seasons.
Another highlight was provided by junior Chris Culkin (Novi, Mich./Northville), who posted a time of 16:34.68 in the 1,650-yard freestyle to finish fifth. His 1,000-yard split in the event was good for a school record, breaking a mark set in 1987 by Wittenberg Athletics Hall of Honor inductee Paul Sutter.
Also of note was a seventh-place finish by senior Adeline Brym (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) in the 200-yard backstroke.