Pitcovich and Colvin earn All-Region honors, lead Women's Cross Country to 7th in 34-team NCAA Great Lakes Regional
By Scott Beaton
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Sophomore Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) and senior Kathleen Colvin (Hilliard/Bishop Ready) earned All-Region honors en route to leading the Ohio Northern women's cross country team to a seventh-place finish in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regionals at the Gainey Athletic Complex on Saturday.
"This was a great day for us," 11th-year head coach Jason Maus said. "We ran a tremendous race in tough conditions."
The 6-kilometer race was shortened by 300 meters due to unsafe course conditions.
Pitcovich was 13th of 233 finishers in 21:47.60 and Colvin was 35th in 22:29.07.
"Tessa was amazing and Kat had a really good race to be All-Region," Maus stated. The top-35 finishers are named All-Region.
Baldwin Wallace won the race with 83 points and John Carroll was second with 84 points while Oberlin was third with 110 points and Hope (Mich.) was fourth with 139 points. ONU (99-35 overall) was seventh with 219 points.
ONU's seventh-place finish at an NCAA Regionals marks its best finish since it was seventh in 2012.
BW and JCU earn automatic bids the NCAA Division III Championships on Nov. 23.
If Oberlin and Hope (Mich.) earn at-large bids to the NCAA Championships, then Pitcovich will qualify as an individual. The NCAA field is expected to be announced Sunday evening.
Sophomore Rue Whitmore (Mason) was 44th in 23:19.19 and right behind her was junior Megan Wright (Eaton/Twin Valley South), who placed 45th in 22:39.25.
Rounding out the ONU scorers was junior Kylie Vestal (Youngstown/Austintown-Fitch) in 82nd in 23:18.90.
"Megan and Rue were really tough and Kylie had one of her best races of the season," Maus added.
The ONU displacers were junior Chyanne Retcher (Ney/Fairview) and senior Madeleine Routhier (West Unity/Hilltop).
Retcher was 99th in 23:34.28 and Routhier was 113th in 24:01.92.
If Oberlin and Hope (Mich.) earn at-large bids to the NCAA Championships, then Pitcovich will qualify as an individual. The NCAA field is expected to be announced Sunday evening.
The NCAA Championships race is Nov. 23 at 12:15 p.m. in Louisville.
Ohio Northern ends its season record with a 99-35 mark.
Team Standings
1. #21 John Carroll 83, 2. #23 Baldwin Wallace 84, 3. #12 Oberlin 110, 4. #27 Hope (Mich.) 139, 5. #34 Allegheny (Pa.) 156, 6. Calvin (Mich.) 209, 7. Ohio Northern 219, 8. Otterbein 220, 9. Case Western Reserve 239, 10. DePauw (Ind.) 265, 11. #30 Kenyon 368, 12. Manchester (Ind.) 379, 13. Mount Union 395, 14. Trine (Ind.) 409, 15. Hanover (Ind.) 446, 16. Denison 466, 17. St. Mary's (Ind.) 466, 18. Wooster 503, 19. Ohio Wesleyan 504, 20. Wilmington 581, 21. Wittenberg 605, 22. Bluffton 607, 23. Heidelberg 635, 24. Rose-Hulman (Ind.) 656, 25. Alma (Mich.) 747, 26. Kalamazoo (Mich.) 761, 27. Earlham (Ind.) 844, 28. Albion (Mich.) 870, 29. Capital 872, 30. Spalding (Ky.) 898, 31. Franklin (Ind.) 914, 32. Anderson (Ind.) 955, 33. Mount St. Joseph 965, 34. Transylvania (Ky.) 975
Top 5 Individuals
1. Evie Bultemeyer (Trine) 20:58.12, 2. Mica Hannish (Allegheny) 21:10.02, 3. Cameron Bujaucius (John Carroll) 21:14.25, 4. Kelly Brennan (Baldwin Wallace) 21:17.49, 5. Anatasia Tucker (Hope) 21:24.17
Ohio Northern Results
13. Tessa Pitcovich 21:47.60, 35. Kathleen Colvin 22:29.07, 44. Rue Whitmore 23:19.19, 45. Megan Wright 22:39.25, 82. Kylie Vestal 23:18.90, 99. Chyanne Retcher 23:34.28, 113. Madeleine Routhier 24:01.92