Welker Leads Way to 6th Place Team Finish at NCAC Championship

October 30, 2021

Springfield, OH- The Tigers stepped foot on their home course this weekend as they hosted the NCAC Championship race at the Clark County Fairgrounds. The men were ranked fourth in the pre-championship poll while the women were ranked fifth. On a muddy course the Tigers ended in sixth on both sides, the programs best for the women since 2016 and since 2010 on the men's side.

The men- The men were able to claim 172 points with a top finish of fourth place from Freshman, Conor Kolka. Kolka crossed the line at 26:37.2, a program best since 1996 when Isaac Barnes finished the NCAC Championship race in fourth with a time of 26:39.7. There is only one other runner in program history with a better finish in 1994 and 1995 from Jeremy Kaufman who placed first and second. Kolka received All-NCAC First Team honors for his accomplishments. Following Kolka in second for Wittenberg was Cullen Sainey in 25^th with a time of 27:33.6. The Tigers top five also included Evan Cordle (28:06.3), Andrew Reese (28:13.9), and Trenton Brown (29:04.8). The men had an average race time of 27:56 with finishes of 4^th, 25^th, 48^th, 51^st, 70^th, 75^th, 76^th, 80^th, 84^th, and 98^th.

The Women- On the women's side, the Tigers gathered 135 points and an average race time of 24:59. The Red & White were led by Lauren Welker with a 22^nd place finish and time of 24:32.6. The Tigers top five for the women also included Megan Keys (24:38.3), Elizabeth Canright (24:45.5), Sydney Khosla (25:21.9), and Caroline Arndt (25:32.0). The Women had finishes of 22^nd, 24^th, 27^th, 34^th, 37^th, 41^st, 64^th, 66^th, 68^th, 71^st, and 73^rd.