Women's Cross Country ends fifth of 17 teams at 2018 All-Ohio Championships

By Blake Moore

NORTON - The Ohio Northern women's cross country team recorded a fifth-place finish in a field of 17 NCAA Division III institutions during the 2018 All-Ohio Championships at Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton, Ohio Saturday afternoon.

The Polar Bears (37-13 overall) totaled 136 team points in the 6,000 meter race, placing them in a tie for fourth place with fellow Ohio Athletic Conference school Mount Union. However, the Purple Raiders edged Ohio Northern in a tiebreaker based upon head-to-head matchups of each team's top-five finishers.

Otterbein would be crowned the NCAA Division III team champions posting a team score of 48 points, which bested the remaining field by 59 points. Case Western Reserve (107) and Baldwin Wallace (112) wound up second and third in the final team standings, respectively.

Freshman Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) and sophomore Megan Wright (Eaton/Twin Valley South) led a close-knit Ohio Northern pack that finished 12 seconds apart to the finish line. Pitcovich was the team's top finisher for the second time this season after crossing the tape in 23:46.4 to end 24th overall. Meanwhile, Wright would take the 25th spot with a 23:47.2 clocking.

Just five seconds would separate freshman Sophia Thompson (Sparta/Highland), sophomore Chyanne Retcher (Ney/Fairview), and senior Avery Ewing (Kokomo, Ind./Eastern) Saturday afternoon as the trio finished third-through-fifth for the Polar Bears and 28th, 29th, and 30th overall, respectively.

Senior Kristina Myers (Grove City/Central Crossing) recorded a 33rd-place effort in a time of 23:58.3 while junior Kathleen Colvin (Hilliard/Bishop Ready) rounded out the top-seven Polar Bear finishers in 24:01.5 for a 41st-place standing.

Freshman Elizabeth Whitmore (Mason) also represented Ohio Northern during the race, ending 57th with a time of 24:35.6.

All eight Northern student-athletes set new career-best 6k times during the championship race.

"The women ran really well as a group today - a 10-second pack time one-through-five is astonishing. We have got to just keep working on moving that pack up, but we are in a great spot and have good momentum going into October," Maus stated of the race.

Senior Claire Lamb of Otterbein was crowned the NCAA Division III individual champion after finishing first in a winning time of 21:49.5.

Ohio Northern will now break from action until Friday, October 12 when they travel to the Wilmington Invitational. The meet is currently scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.

Team Standings

1. Otterbein 48, 2. Case Western Reserve 107, 3. Baldwin Wallace 112, 4. Mount Union 136*, 5. Ohio Northern 136*, 6. Kenyon 181, 7. John Carroll 194, 8. Wooster 230, 9. Bluffton 237, 10. Oberlin 283, 11. Denison 305, 12. Muskingum 321, 13. Ohio Wesleyan 323, 14. Heidelberg 383, 15. Wittenberg 420, 16. Ursuline 429, 17. Wilmington 475 

Top 5 Individuals

1. Claire Lamb (Otterbein) 21:49.5, 2. Heather Sandvik (Otterbein) 22:05.4, 3. Hilary Reigle (Mount Union) 22:20.7, 4. Bella Pendola (Baldwin Wallace) 22:23.1, 5. Kelly Brennan (Baldwin Wallace) 22:46.4

Ohio Northern Individual Results (Championship Race)

24. Tessa Pitcovich 23:46.4, 25. Megan Wright 23:47.2, 28. Sophia Thompson 23:51.7, 29. Chyanne Retcher 23:53.6, 30. Avery Ewing 23:56.3, 33. Kristina Myers 23:58.3, 41. Kathleen Colvin 24:01.5, 57. Elizabeth Whitmore 24:35.6

Ohio Northern Individual Results (Open Race)

31. Angie Sullivan 24:30.8, 50. Colleen Grainger 25:12.1, 53. Kylie Vestal 25:17.3, 60. Taylor Ellerbrock 25:33.3, 75. Michaela Fox 26:04.4, 80. Madeleine Routhier 26:11.0, 94. Elizabeth Steele 26:36.6, 119. Janelle Posthuma 27:31.6, 126. Jocelyn Reinhart 27:53.6, 135. Karsen Bresnahan 28:20.5, 156. Lauren Trace 30:16.6,