Women's Cross Country finishes 7th of 37 at NCAA III Great Lakes Regional Championships; Pitcovich qualifies for NCAA III Championships - Joins Ellerbrock on All-Region squad

Women's Cross Country finishes 7th of 37 at NCAA III Great Lakes Regional Championships; Pitcovich qualifies for NCAA III Championships - Joins Ellerbrock on All-Region squad
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November 13, 2021

By Tim Glon

SHELBYVILLE, IND. — The Ohio Northern women's cross country team placed seventh of 37 teams at the NCAA III Great Lakes Regional Championships on Saturday afternoon at Blue River Memorial Park.

Senior Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Munroe Falls) qualified for the NCAA III Championships next weekend in Louisville, Ky., with a fifth place finish out of 266 runners in a career-best 22:08 over the 6,000-meter course.

Her 22:08 finish moves her up to fourth all-time in ONU history for 6,000-meters.

Pitcovich and senior Taylor Ellerbrock (Columbus Grove) earned All-Great Lakes region honors with top-35 finishes, as Ellerbrock crossed in 20th place in a career-low 22:43.

Ellerbrock moves into the all-time list at the 11th-fastest runner in ONU history.

Northern (95-31 overall) scored 221 points to finish seven of 37 teams, finishing behind six nationally-ranked opponents.

No. 10 Hope (Mich.) won the team title with 98 points, No. 13 Calvin (Mich.) was second with 121 points and No. 23 John Carroll was third with 125 points.

Sophomore Megan Vapenik (Strongsville) was 54th in a career-low 23:23, senior Rue Whitmore (Mason) was 62nd in 23:34 and senior Sophia Thompson was 85th in 23:54.

Team Standings

1. #10 Hope (Mich.) 98, 2. #13 Calvin (Mich.) 121, 3. #23 John Carroll 125, 4. #25 Case Western Reserve 164, 5. #32 Trine (Ind.) 181, 6. #21 Allegheny (Pa.) 183, 7. Ohio Northern 221, 8. Mount Union 229, 9. DePauw (Ind.) 296, 10. Oberlin 343, 11. Centre (Ky.) 345, 12. Manchester (Ind.) 371, 13. Wooster 386, 14. Baldwin Wallace 387, 15. Kenyon 401, 16. Kalamazoo (Mich.) 434, 17. Franciscan 441, 18. Wittenberg 487, 19. Denison 539, 20. Albion (Mich.) 539, 21. Rose-Hulman (Ind.) 578, 22. Saint Mary's (Ind.) 597, 23. Otterbein 619, 24. Heidelberg 651, 25. Hanover (Ind.) 683, 26. Anderson (Ind.) 760, 27. Ohio Wesleyan 761, 28. Adrian (Mich.) 842, 29. Bluffton 875, 30. Franklin (Ind.) 888, 31. Olivet (Mich.) 901, 32. Capital 901, 33. Alma (Mich.) 907, 34. Earlham (Ind.) 915, 35. Marietta 1018, 36. Berea (Ky.) 1143, 37. Defiance 1150. Wilmington, Mount Saint Joseph, Transylvania (Ky.), Muskingum and Spalding (Ky.) - No Team Scores.

Top 5 Individuals

1. Evie Bultemeyer (Trine) 21:16, 2. Anastasia Tucker (Hope) 21:52, 3. Sadie Heeringa (Calvin) 22:02, 4. Jana Fisher (Case Western Reserve) 22:05, 5. Tessa Pitcovich (Ohio Northern) 22:08.

Ohio Northern Results

5. Tessa Pitcovich 22:08, 20. Taylor Ellerbrock 22:43, 54. Megan Vapenik 23:23, 62. Rue Whitmore 23:34, 85. Sophia Thompson 23:54, 105. Olyvia Ashbrook 24:24, 149. Bailey Kreft 25:22.