Women’s Cross Country takes first place at Wittenberg Invitational

Women’s Cross Country takes first place at Wittenberg Invitational
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September 10, 2022

By Wes Mayberry

SPRINGFIELD — The Ohio Northern women's cross country team earned its second straight victory to open the 2022 season Saturday morning at the Wittenberg Invitational at the Clark County Fairgrounds.

The Polar Bears (10-0 overall) won the team title, scoring 40 points to place first of 10 teams. Wittenberg was second with 62 points, and Baldwin Wallace was third with 84 points.

Fifth-year senior Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) led Northern across the finish line, finishing fifth overall with a time of 23:31.4 on the 6,000-meter course.

The Polar Bears had three other runners place inside the top 10.

Junior Olesya Mertz (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) was sixth in a career-best 23:50.0, freshman Kennedy Rader (Mason/William Mason) was seventh in 23:59.1, and junior Megan Vapenik (Strongsville) was ninth in 24:23.5.

Freshman Sarah Gilbert (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) and sophomores Ashley Hockstok (Westerville/Central) and Bailey Kreft (Sunbury/Buckeye Valley) rounded out ONU's top seven. Gilbert was 13th in 24:40.3, Hockstok was 14th in a career-best 24:42.3, and Kreft was 15th in 24:49.0.

Baldwin Wallace's Hope Murphy was the top overall finisher, running a time of 22:58.8.

The Polar Bears return to action on Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Rochester (N.Y.) Invitational.

Team Standings 

1. Ohio Northern 40, 2. Wittenberg 62, 3. Baldwin Wallace 84, 4. Denison 118, 5. Manchester (Ind.) 142, 6. Wooster 164, 7. Berea (Ky.) 177, 8. Ohio Dominican 204, 9. Marietta 240, 10. Wilberforce 306

Top 5 Individuals 

1. Hope Murphy (Baldwin Wallace) 22:58.8, 2. Isabelle Hoover (Wooster) 23:10.4, 3. Corin Turkovich (Wittenberg) 23:15.0, 4. Hannah Brubaker (Manchester) 23:26.0, 5. Tessa Pitcovich (ONU) 23:31.4

Ohio Northern Results 

5. Tessa Pitcovich 23:31.4, 6. Olesya Mertz 23:50.0, 7. Kennedy Rader 23:59.1, 9. Megan Vapenik 24:23.5, 13. Sarah Gilbert 24:40.3, 14. Ashley Hockstok 24:42.3, 15. Bailey Kreft 24:49.0, 16. Samantha Roth 24:53.0, 18. Olyvia Ashbrook 25:08.5, 20. Natalie Armbruster 25:17.1, 22. Aubrey Cable 25:24.3, 30. Sydney Goodrich 25:51.1, 32. Dani Widmark 25:54.0, 37. Abby Matthews 26:08.0, 38. Kaitlin Prusnek 26:11.1, 45. Lexi Neff 26:35.3, 53. M.J. Zindars 27:16.8, 56. Lynncoln Tynan 27:35.2, 68. Kylie Allmon 28:46.0, 80. Lizzy Dingman 30:41.2, 81. Summer Bouillon 31:14.8