Women's Cross Country Wins Second Straight NCAC Title, Men Finish in Historic Third Place.
Granville, OH – Wittenberg Cross Country traveled to Denison University for the NCAC Cross Country Championships. Both teams performed very well with historic finishes.
The women's team won their second straight NCAC title by three points over DePauw. Senior Sydney Khosla, claimed her first ever cross country title crossing the line in 22:23.2. Next in was sophomore Ella Webster. Webster finished in a time of 22:26.4 Webster helped lead majority of the race pulling Khosla and the rest of the NCAC field with her. It was a 1,2,3 sweep for the Tigers with junior Megan Keys coming down the stretch behind her teammates in a time of 22:35.8. The fourth runner for the team was sophomore Emma Hawk. Hawk finished sixth overall, crossing the line in 22:45.2. The fifth Tiger in was sophomore Mackenzie Kelley. Kelley finished in 24:04.6 for 25th overall.
On the men's side, the team produced their best finish in 25 years taking third with 99 points scored. The Tigers were led by junior Conor Kolka who claimed the individual title in a time of 25:27.2. Kolka beat the next runner in by 25 seconds. Next runners in a was a group of Tigers finishing three seconds apart. Senior Peter Caine was the second runner in. Caine finished 23rd overall, crossing the line in 27:02. Then junior Adam Arndt crossed the line .6 seconds behind Caine for 24th place. The fourth Tiger was sophomore Lucas Eisele in a time of 27:04.6 for 25th overall. The fifth runner was senior, Ian McCandlish crossed the line in 26th place with a time of 27:05.9.
Five Tigers earned conference honors for their performances. Conor Kolka and Sydney Khosla earned NCAC Runner of the Year for their wins. Kolka and Khosla also earned First Team All-NCAC honors along with Ella Webster, Megan Keys, and Emma Hawk. The coaching staff led by Paris Hilliard and Chris Marco was named Women's Coaching Staff of the Year.
NCAC Award Winners:
Women's Cross Country Team Champions
Men's Runner of the Year: Conor Kolka
Women's Runner of the Year: Sydney Khosla
First Team All-NCAC: Conor Kolka, Sydney Khosla, Ella Webster, Megan Keys, Emma Hawk
Women's Coaching Staff of the Year: Paris Hilliard, Chris Marco, Alexia Page-Boyd, Josh Lynch, VaShawn Walker
NEXT UP: The Tigers look ahead to the NCAA Regional Championships on November 11th in Norton, OH.