Women’s Cross Country finishes 4th at OAC Championships 

By Bud Denega 

TWINSBURG — The Ohio Northern women's cross country team placed fourth at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships Saturday at the Liberty Park Recreation Area. It marks the 18th consecutive year that the Polar Bears finished in the top five at the conference championships. 

Northern scored 94 points, while John Carroll won the meet, accumulating 41 points. Baldwin Wallace and Otterbein finished second and third with 49 and 73 points, respectively. 

Sophomore Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) paced the Polar Bears. She crossed ninth overall out of 113 runners in 23:27.7. 

Senior Kathleen Colvin (Hilliard/Bishop Ready) was second on the team and 13th overall after recording a time of 23:35.8. Junior Megan Wright (Eaton/Twin Valley South) was right on her heels, taking 14th in a time of 23:36.6. 

All three runners earned All-OAC honors with a top-18 finish.

Junior Kylie Vestal (Youngstown/Austintown-Fitch) finished 28th overall, running a time of 24:21.3, and sophomore Rue Whitmore (Mason) placed 30th, clocking in at 24:26.5 to round out ONU's top five. Senior Madeleine Routhier (West Unity/Hilltop) and junior Chyanne Retcher (Ney/Fairview) took sixth and seventh on the team — 33rd and 37th overall — with times of 24:33.8 and 24.42.3, respectively. 

John Carroll's Sydney Jenko won the meet, running a time of 22:28.7. JCU"s Cameron Bujaucius and Baldwin Wallace's Kelly Brennan rounded out the top three with times of 22:33.6 and 22:39.6, respectively. 

Northern returns to competition Nov. 16 at the Great Lakes Regional Championship in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Team Standings 

1. #19 John Carroll 41, 2. #22 Baldwin Wallace 49, 3. Otterbein 73, 4. Ohio Northern 94, 5. Mount Union 107, 6. Wilmington 175, 7. Heidelberg 197, 8. Capital 242, 9. Muskingum 267. 

Top 5 Individuals 

1. Sydney Jenko (John Carroll) 22:28.7, 2. Cameron Bujaucius (John Carroll) 22:33.6, 3. Kelly Brennan (Baldwin Wallace) 22:39.6, 4. Madison Kile (Baldwin Wallace) 22:53, 5. Sydney Smith (Otterbein) 22:54.5. 

Ohio Northern Results 

9. Tessa Pitcovich 23:27.7, 13. Kathleen Colvin 23:35.8, 14. Megan Wright 23:36.6, 28. Kylie Vestal 24:21.3, 30. Rue Whitmore 24:26.5, 33. Madeleine Routhier 24:33.8, 37. Chyanne Retcher 24:42.3, 41. Michaela Fox 24:59.8, 44. Sophia Thompson 25:10.6, 66. Alexis Neff 26:17.6, 71. Kamryn Rhodes 26:30.2, 72. Gabrielle Kowalczyk 26:31.5, 77. Taylor Ellerbrock 26:45.9, 90. Lauren Trace 28:06.4, 91. Erica Mobley 28:07, 96. Taylor Fisher 28:41.5, 106. Karsen Bresnahan 30:49.3.