Women's Cross Country places 4th of 13 Division III teams at All-Ohio Intercollegiate Challenge
September 15, 2023
CEDARVILLE — The Ohio Northern women's cross country team placed fourth of 13 NCAA Division III teams at the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Challenge on Friday evening.
The Basics
- Record: Ohio Northern (19-6)
- Race Info: The event was a 6K race held at Elvin R. King Cross Country Course in Cedarville.
- ONU placed fourth of 13 NCAA Division III teams with 107 points.
Race Results
- Wittenberg won the Division III team title with 50 points, John Carroll was second with 52 points, and Case Western Reserve was third with 78 points.
- Ohio Wesleyan rounded out the top five with 131 points.
- Northern finished ninth overall among 30 teams from all divisions, scoring 287 points.
Top ONU Performers
- Freshman AnnaSophia Gower (Perrysburg), the reigning Ohio Athletic Conference Runner of the Week, led ONU across the finish line, placing fifth among Division III runners, and 22nd overall in the 343-woman field, in 22:50.94.
- Junior Ashley Hockstok (Westerville/Central) was 20th in Division III, and 63rd overall, in 23:45.03.
- Senior Olesya Mertz (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) was 21st in Division III, and 70th overall, in 23:47.00.
- Senior Megan Vapenik (Strongsville) was 29th in Division III, and 79th overall, in 23:51.12.
- Junior Olyvia Ashbrook (Johnstown/Northridge) was 32nd in Division III, and 95th overall, in 24:13.45.
Notables
- Ella Webster of Wittenberg won the Division III individual title in 21:48.09.
- Gower was tops among ONU runners for the third consecutive meet, and she set a new career-best time, beating her mark of 26:02.21 from last week.
- Mertz set a new personal-best time, beating her old mark of 23:50.
- Ashbrook also set a new career-best time, beating her old mark of 24:24.
Up Next
- The Polar Bears return to action on Friday, Sept. 29, at the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational.