Women's Cross Country finishes second at OAC Championships, earns 5 All-OAC honors
By Brandt Marshall
NEW CONCORD — The Ohio Northern women's cross country team posted its best Ohio Athletic Conference Championships finish in a decade on Saturday afternoon at the Muskingum Cross Country Course. The Polar Bears extended their streak of top-five finishes at the OAC meet to 20 years in a row.
Northern (90-19 overall) scored 67 points to place second behind OAC Champion No. 26 John Carroll, who scored 36 points. The second-place finish was the team's best since winning the OAC title in 2012.
Fifth-year senior Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow Munroe Falls) led the Polar Bears across the line in 22:36.9 and earned All-OAC honors with a second-place finish of 113 runners.
Fifth-year senior Taylor Ellerbrock (Columbus Grove) was 13th in 23:53.2, sophomore Ashley Hockstok (Westerville/Central) was 16th in 24:05.3, freshman Kennedy Rader (Mason) was 17th in 24:16.6 and sophomore Bailey Kreft (Sunbury/Buckeye Valley) was 19th in 24:20.5 and also earned All-OAC honors.
The top 10 runners earned First Team All-OAC honors with runners 11-20 earning Second Team All-OAC honors.
Junior Olesya Mertz (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) was 23rd in 24:32.3, and freshman Samantha Roth (Brunswick) was 25th in 24:44.3 to round out the Polar Bears' top seven finishers.
Macy McAdams of Muskingum claimed individual OAC Champion honors with a time of 22:29.6, Pitcovich was second in 22:36.9, Erica Esper of John Carroll was third in 22:52.0, Brittany McCauley of Mount Union finished fourth in 23:06.7 and Isabel Chaney was fifth in 23:15.9.
Ohio Northern will compete next on Nov. 12 in the Great Lakes Regional at Holland, Michigan.
Team Standings
1. #26 John Carroll 35, 2. Ohio Northern 67, 3. Mount Union 75, 4. Baldwin Wallace 120, 5. Heidelberg 152, 6. Otterbein 178, 7. Muskingum 179., 8. Marietta 251, 9. Wilmington 256, 10. Capital 263.
Top 20 Individuals
1. Macy McAdams (Muskingum) 22:29.6, 2. Tessa Pitcovich (Ohio Northern) 22:36.9, 3. Erica Esper (John Carroll) 22:52.0, 4. Brittany McCauley (Mount Union) 23:06.7, 5. Isabel Chaney (Heidelberg) 23:15.9, 6. Abby Schroff (John Carroll) 23:21.2, 7. Hope Murphy (Baldwin Wallace) 23:31.6, 8. Cameron Bujaucius (John Carroll) 23:37.9, 9. Sarah Weldon (John Carroll) 23:40.0, 10. Jennifer Massucci (John Carroll) 23:43.3, 11. Ellie Kitsmiller (John Carroll) 23:43.4, 12. Amanda Keim (John Carroll) 23:44.7, 13. Taylor Ellerbrock (Ohio Northern) 23:53.2, 14. Erin Smith (Mount Union) 23:54.3, 15. Jasmine Arnold (Mount Union) 23:56.0, 16. Ashley Hockstok (Ohio Northern) 24:05.3, 17. Kennedy Rader (Ohio Northern) 24:14.6, 18. Gianini Venuto (Mount Union) 24:15.9, 19. Bailey Kreft (Ohio Northern) 24:20.5, 20. Milena Wahl (Wilmington) 24:42.1.
Ohio Northern Results
2. Tessa Pitcovich 22:36.9, 13. Taylor Ellerbrock 23:53.2, 16. Ashley Hockstok 24:05.3, 17. Kennedy Rader 24:14.6, 19. Bailey Kreft 24:20.5, 23. Olesya Mertz 24:32.3 25. Samantha Roth 24:44.3, 30. Olyvia Ashbrook 25:09.6, 32. Aubrey Cable 25:17.5, 36. Natalie Armbruster 25:32.8, 37. Dani Widmark 25:34.0, 54. Sarah Gilbert 26:30.4, 57. M.J. Zindars 26:35.9, 60. Lexi Neff 26:47.6, 71. Lynncoln Tynan 27:09.8, 72. J.J. Herron 27:38.3, 73. Kaitlin Prusnek 27:44.0, 85. Kylie Allmon 28:39.6, 94. Victoria Kempton 29:37.2