#31 Women’s Cross Country places ninth of 36 teams at Pre-National Meet

By Wes Mayberry

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The No. 31 Ohio Northern women's cross country team finished ninth of 36 teams at the Pre-National Meet at Forest Akers East Golf Course on Saturday.

The Polar Bears (60-9 overall) scored 307 points and finished behind eight other teams ranked in this week's USTFCCCA Division III poll.

No. 3 Chicago (Ill.) finished first with 59 points, No. 7 Massachusetts Institute of Technology was second with 106 points and No. 9 Wisconsin-La Crosse was third with 118 points.

No. 25 George Fox (Ore.), No. 23 Calvin (Mich.), No. 35 St. Lawrence (N.Y.), No. 17 John Carroll and No. 18 Loras (Iowa) rounded out the top eight.

Fifth-year senior Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) led the Polar Bears across the finish line, placing 27th of 316 runners with a time of 22:46 on the 6,000-meter course.

Fifth-year senior Taylor Ellerbrock (Columbus Grove) was 35th in 23:02, junior Megan Vapenik (Strongsville) was 81st in 23:46, freshman Samantha Roth (Brunswick) was 84th in a personal-best 23:49, freshman Kennedy Rader (Mason/William Mason) was 87th in a personal-best 23:51, sophomore Ashley Hockstok (Westerville/Central) was 90th in a personal-best 23:55 and sophomore Bailey Kreft (Sunbury/Buckeye Valley) was 107th in a personal-best 24:07 to round out ONU's top seven finishers.

Loras' Kassie Parker was the top overall finisher, running a time of 20:31.

The Polar Bears return to action on Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Oberlin Region Rumble.

Team Standings 

1. #3 Chicago (Ill.) 59, 2. #7 MIT (Mass.) 106, 3. #9 Wisconsin-La Crosse 118, 4. #25 George Fox (Ore.) 137, 5. #23 Calvin (Mich.) 201, 6. #35 St. Lawrence (N.Y.) 242, 7. #17 John Carroll 243, 8. #18 Loras (Iowa) 244, 9. #31 Ohio Northern 307, 10. Trine (Ind.) 351, 11. Mount Union 377, 12. St. Benedict (Kan.) 379, 13. Wellesley (Mass.) 453, 15. Connecticut College 472, 16. Centre (Ky.) 487, 17. Wisconsin-Whitewater 500, 18. Edgewood (Wis.) 512, 19. Wittenberg 523, 20. Kalamazoo (Mich.) 573, 21. Occidental (Calif.) 607, 22. Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) 608, 23. Baldwin Wallace 673, 24. #12 Hope (Mich.) 679, 25. St. Vincent (Pa.) 680, 26. Albion (Mich.) 681, 27. Oberlin 741, 28. PSU-Behrend (Pa.) 770, 29. St. Mary's (Ind.) 859, 30. Denison 871, 31. Heidelberg 889, 32. Manchester (Ind.) 951, 33. Alma (Mich.) 968, 34. Wilmington 968, 35. Adrian (Mich.) 1004, 36. Olivet (Mich.) 1095.

Top 5 Individuals 

1. Kassie Parker (Loras) 20:31, 2. Fiona Smith (St. Benedict) 20:54, 3. Lucy Groothuis (Chicago) 22:02, 4. Anna Kenig-Ziesler (Chicago) 22:04, 5. Frances Schaeffler (Chicago) 22:05.

Ohio Northern Results 

27. Tessa Pitcovich 22:46, 35. Taylor Ellerbrock 23:02, 81. Megan Vapenik 23:46, 84. Samantha Roth 23:49, 87. Kennedy Rader 23:51, 90. Ashley Hockstok 23:55, 107. Bailey Kreft 24:07, 111. Olesya Mertz 24:09, 157. Sarah Gilbert 24:44, 159. Olyvia Ashbrook 24:46.