Three individuals, Women’s Cross Country team named All-Academic by USTFCCCA

By Wes Mayberry

| USTFCCCA NCAA III Women's Cross Country All-Academic Athletes | USTFCCCA NCAA III Women's Cross Country All-Academic Teams | 

ADA — The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association awarded All-Academic status to the Ohio Northern women's cross country team and named fifth-year seniors Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) and Taylor Ellerbrock (Columbus Grove) and sophomore Ashley Hockstok (Westerville/Central) as All-Academic Athletes for the 2022 season.

The Polar Bears were named an All-Academic Team for having a cumulative GPA better than 3.1 on a 4.0 scale. As a team, ONU posted a cumulative GPA of 3.256 and was one of 212 programs honored. This marks the 17th straight USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honor for the program.

In order to qualify as an All-Academic Athlete, runners must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 on a 4.0 scale and finish in the top 25% of their respective regional championship meet. In all, 383 men from 137 different institutions earned the honor.

Pitcovich, a graduate student in accounting, had an outstanding 2022 season, finishing a team-best fifth overall of 247 runners at the Great Lakes Regional Championships in a personal-best time of 21:22.3, which ranks third-best in program history for 6,000 meters and qualified her for the NCAA Championships.

At the national meet, Pitcovich placed 81st of 293 runners, and the three-time national qualifier earned the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championships Elite 90 Award for the second straight season. She is just the second student-athlete in ONU history to win the award twice.

Hockstok, a civil engineering major, placed 21st overall at the regional meet in a personal-best time of 22:04.1, which ranks fifth all-time at ONU.

Ellerbrock, a medical laboratory science major, was third among Polar Bear runners at the regional meet, placing 31st overall with a personal-best time of 22:17.9, which ranks ninth-best in ONU history.

This marks the third USTFCCCA All-Academic honor for Pitcovich, who also earned the accolade in 2019 and 2021, and the second straight for Ellerbrock.

All three student-athletes earned All-Region, All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC accolades this season.

The Polar Bears closed the season with a fifth-place finish of 34 teams at the regional meet, finishing with an overall record of 119-23 under 14th-year head coach Jason Maus.