Trio of All-Region honorees lead Women's Cross Country to best Regional Championships finish since 2012
By Brandt Marshall
HOLLAND, Mich. — The Ohio Northern women's cross country team posted its best Regional Championships finish in a decade on Saturday afternoon at Three Fires Golf Club. The fifth-place finish was the team's best since finishing seventh in 2012, and all seven ONU runners posted personal-best times while three earned All-Region honors.
Northern (119-23 overall) scored 158 points and was led by fifth-year senior Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls). Pitcovich finished fifth overall in a time of 21:22.3, earned All-Region honors and will compete next Saturday at the NCAA National Championships in East Lansing, Michigan.
Pitcovich's previous personal-best was 22:08, and she now ranks third all-time at ONU for 6,000 meters.
Sophomore Ashley Hockstok (Westerville/Central) smashed her previous personal-best by over 90 seconds to finish 21st in 22:04.1.
She joined fifth-year senior Taylor Ellerbrock (Columbus Grove), who finished in 31st place in 22:17.9, as Northern's trio of All-Region honorees.
Junior Megan Vapenik (Strongsville) and sophomore Bailey Kreft (Sunbury/Buckeye Valley) completed the team score for Ohio Northern with respective finishes of 50th and 53rd in times of 22:43.2 and 22:44.7.
Freshmen Samantha Roth (Brunswick) and Kennedy Rader (Mason) also competed for the Polar Bears. Roth finished 63rd with a time of 22:54.0, and Rader was 90th in 23:36.6.
"This was our best finish at regionals since 2012, so it was a great day for us. Everyone ran a great race for us, and Ashley Hockstok really stepped up," ONU head coach Jason Maus said. "Tessa qualifying for the national meet is a big accomplishment, and it keeps ONU's strong tradition going, as we've been represented at the national meet every year since 2005."
Anastasia Tucker of Hope claimed regional champion honors with a time of 20:46.0.
John Carroll took home the team title, scoring 81 points.
Team Standings
1. #26 John Carroll 35, 2. Calvin 106, 3. Hope 127, 4. Mount Union 147, 5. Ohio Northern 158, 6. Trine 195, 7. Allegheny 206, 8. Wittenberg 255, 9. DePauw 264, 10. Case Western 274, 11. Centre 290, 12. Baldwin Wallace 312, 13. Kalamazoo 335, 14. Oberlin 416, 15. Albion 438, 16. Heidelberg 535, 17. Denison 540, 18. Franciscan 559, 19. St. Mary's (Ind.) 585, 20. Ohio Wesleyan 611, 21. Manchester 613, 22. Alma 648, 23. Hanover 699, 24. Kenyon 712, 25. Franklin 744, 26. Adrian 747, 27. Muskingum 754, 28. Wooster 759, 29. Rose-Hulman 792, 30. Transylvania 792, 31. Anderson (Ind.) 811, 32. Olivet 860, 33. Bluffton 895, 34. Marietta 905.
Top 10 Individuals
1. Anastasia Tucker (Hope) 20:46.0, 2. Claire Walters (Franciscan) 21:06.0, 3. Jenna Allman (Calvin), 4. Erica Esper (John Carroll) 21:17.8, 5. Tessa Pitcovich (Ohio Northern) 21:22.3, 6. Sienna Ruiter-Diaz (Calvin) 21:37.5, 7. Meghan Owens (Centre) 21:40.6, 8. Hope Murphy (Baldwin Wallace) 21:42.6, 9. Macy McAdams (Muskingum) 21:44.5, 10. Megan McCulloch (Albion) 21:44.9.
Ohio Northern Results
5. Tessa Pitcovich 21:22.3, 21. Ashley Hockstok 22:04.1, 31. Taylor Ellerbrock 22:17.9, 50. Megan Vapenik 22:43.2, 53. Bailey Kreft 22:44.7, 63. Samantha Roth 22:54.0, 90 Kennedy Rader 23:36.6.