Tessa Pitcovich finishes 77th out of 280 runners at NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championships
By Tim Glon
| NCAA III Championships site |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sophomore Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) finished 77th out of 280 runners at the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning at Tom Sawyer State Park.
Pitcovich ran a 22:40 in very muddy and sloppy conditions to post the fourth-best NCAA Championships finish in school history.
"Tessa ran a great race," ONU head coach Jason Maus said. "She went out quick and was able to stay among the front all race. With these sloppy conditions, if you fall behind you can't make it up. She was terrific, especially considering it was her first time at the championships and in these tough conditions. Our goal was a top-100 finish and she did that and then some. I am so proud of her."
Pitcovich was in 50th place after one kilometer in 3:36 and was 75th in 11:00.2 after 3k. She stayed at 76th after 4k in 15:06.4 and finished 77th.
"It was an awesome day," Pitcovich said. "I am so happy with how I ran. When we ran this course in the regular season the lead Gator got lost so considering that this is my first time running the actual course it makes it even better."
This marks the 15th consecutive season that Ohio Northern has been represented at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.