2002 News Releases
November 26, 2002
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| Abi Gerstle |
It was a fine conclusion to a fine career, the finest, in fact, that any Wittenberg female cross country runner has ever put together.
Senior
Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) finished 54th in the NCAA Division III National Championship meet last weekend at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. She ran the course in a time of 22:49, and she moved up more than 30 spots from last year.
This is the third consecutive year in which Gerstle qualified for the national meet, adding to her long list of accomplishments. Gerstle was the first Wittenberg female to make the national meet when she advanced in 2000, the first Tiger runner to make it two times when she qualified in 2001 and, of course, broke new ground when she advanced to this weekend’s meet at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.
In addition, Gerstle was the first Wittenberg runner, male of female, to capture first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference in 2001. She repeated that feat this year.
Next: Season Complete
November 19, 2002
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| Abi Gerstle |
The Wittenberg men’s and women’s cross country teams put the finishing touches on the 2002 season last weekend at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional meet at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. While the teams are finished for the season, however, one individual continues on again.
Senior
Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) advanced to the NCAA Division III National Championship meet for a third straight year by finishing ninth in the region and grabbing one of five individual berths in the national meet. In order to do this, Gerstle had to run a personal best and school record time of 22:37 and pass a runner from Mount Union with about 200 meters to go.
This is the third consecutive year in which Gerstle qualified for the national meet, adding to her long list of accomplishments. Gerstle was the first Wittenberg female to make the national meet when she advanced in 2000, the first Tiger runner to make it two times when she qualified in 2001 and, of course, broke new ground when she advanced to this weekend’s meet at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.
In addition, Gerstle was the first Wittenberg runner, male of female, to capture first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference in 2001. She repeated that feat this year.
Other female runners to finish with personal best times were freshman
Tracy Butler (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) in 24:03, junior
Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall) in 24:17, sophomore
Marissa Davoll (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) in 25:49, junior
Lindsay Veit (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota) in 26:09 and junior
Nikki Norcia (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) in 26:33. Wittenberg finished 16th in the 33-team field.
On the men’s side, senior
Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) led the way with a 94th-place finish in a season-best 27:29. Junior
Tim Damopoulos (London, Ohio/London) had a season-best in 28:13 and freshman
Caleb Arnold (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) had a personal best in 28:28. The Tigers finished 26th among men’s teams.
Next: 11/23 NCAA Great Lakes
Region Championships
at Ada, Ohio
November 12, 2002
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| Abi Gerstle |
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| Nick Dewald |
Wittenberg will be taking part in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional meet this weekend, to be hosted by Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. Leading the charge for Wittenberg will be two-time NCAC individual champion
Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), who claimed first place in the event for a second straight year two weeks ago at Wittenberg. Gerstle, a senior, has qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship meet each of the last two years. It is unprecedented in school history for a cross country runner, male or female, to reach the national meet, let alone do it three straight years.
Senior
Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) has been the Tigers’ top finisher on the men’s team all season. He will be looking to move up from his 29th place finish at the NCAC meet.
Next: 11/16 NCAA Great Lakes
Region Championships
at Ada, Ohio
November 5, 2002
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| Abi Gerstle |
Wittenberg hosted the 19th annual NCAC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships last Saturday at John Bryan State Park near Yellow Springs. It was the second race this season that Wittenberg hosted at picturesque the park, following the successful Wittenberg Invitational on Sept. 7.
Senior
Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) took home the the individual NCAC women’s cross country title for a second straight year, but it wasn’t enought to bring victory to Wittenberg in the team standings. Her time of 18:46 was more than five seconds faster than the rest of the field. Overall, the women finished seventh of nine teams as Allegheny took the women’s title.
Gerstle wasn’t the only Tiger runner to post one of her best times of the season as freshmen
Sarah Gearhart (Enon, Ohio/Greenon),
Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer) and
Tracy Butler (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) all neared their career bests for a five-kilometer race and junior
Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall) turned in a personal best.
The men didn’t finished ninth of 10 teams, with senior
Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) the highest place finisher, coming in 29th with a time of 27:34. His time was one second short of the season best for an eight-kilometer event.
Next: 11/16 NCAA Great Lakes
Region Championships
at Ada, Ohio
October 29, 2002
Wittenberg plays host to the 19th annual NCAC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships on Saturday at John Bryan State Park near Yellow Springs. This will be the second race this season that Wittenberg has hosted at picturesque John Bryan State Park, following the successful Wittenberg Invitational on September 7.
Nineteen teams will compete in the conference championship meet, including men’s and women’s teams from member schools Allegheny, Denison, Oberlin, Kenyon, Earlham, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, Hiram and Wittenberg and the men’s team from Wabash. Races start at 11 a.m. for the men, who run eight kilometers, and noon for the women who run five kilometers. There will be a presentation for the award winners at 1 p.m.
Kenyon won both the men’s and women’s team competitions a year ago. In a preseason poll of the NCAC cross country coaches, the Kenyon men were picked to repeat as champions, while the women were predicted to finish in second behind the coaches’ unanimous choice, Allegheny. The Gators were picked to finish second in the men’s race, followed by Wooster and Wabash. On the women’s side, Denison was tabbed third, followed by Oberlin and Wooster.
So far this season,
Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) has been Wittenberg’s top finisher in all but two races this season. For the women
Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) has taken the plaudits by leading the squad each week, and she is the top returning runner in the NCAC overall. In 2001, Gerstle became the first Wittenberg runner, male or female, to win an individual conference championship and Runner of the Year honors.
Click here for more information.
Next: 11/2 NCAC Championships
@ John Bryan State Park
(Hosted by Wittenberg)
October 22, 2002
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| Abi Gerstle |
A final tune-up before the stretch run of the 2002 men’s and women’s cross country season was run last weekend at Ohio Northern University, where the Tigers got a lot of strong individual performances.
In leading the team to a seventh place finish, senior
Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) won the meet, covering the six kilometers in a course-record and personal-best time of 22:41. Gerstle, who was named NCAC Athlete of the Week for a second time in 2002 as a result of her victory at ONU, appears to be in great shape to defend her 2001 NCAC championship and make a third consecutive run to the NCAA Division III championship meet, scheduled for Nov. 23 in Northfield, Minn. The regional meet, which is Nov. 16, will be run at Ohio Northern’s course.
While the rest of the Tiger runners didn’t have first-place ribbons to show for their efforts, several did turn in personal-best performances, including: freshmen
Tracy Butler (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer) and
Sarah Gearhart (Enon, Ohio/Greenon), sophomore
Lindsay Veit (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East), Melissa Moser (Galion, Ohio/Galion) and
Hillary Brotzman (Madison, Ohio/The Andrews School), and juniors
Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall) and
Nikki Norcia (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick).
For the men,
Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) was the top finisher in 46th place with a season-best time of 27:32 for the eight-kilometer course. Men with personal bests were freshmen
Chris Petrik (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield), Caleb Arnold (Enon, Ohio/Greenon), Adam Majot (Coudersport, Pa./Senior) and
Chris Knapp (Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls), sophomore
Chad Kresser (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), juniors
Jeff Domingus (London, Ohio/London) and
Mike Henderson (Berea, Ohio/Berea) and senior
Nate Henderson (Kettering, Ohio/Dayton Carroll).
Other with season-best times were juniors
Alan Gustafson (Newark, Ohio/Newark) and
Andrew Hobson (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington).
Next: 11/2 NCAC Championships
@ John Bryan State Park
(Hosted by Wittenberg)
October 15, 2002
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| Abi Gerstle |
For a second straight week, the Wittenberg men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in a large meet against dozens of teams from all divisions. Once again, the Tigers acquitted themselves quite well.
Leading the charge at the All-Ohio Championships at Ohio Wesleyan was senior
Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), who finished second among runners from the North Coast Athletic Conference and seventh overall among Division III runners. Freshman
Tracy Butler (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) was next for the Tigers with a 37th place finish, followed by junior
Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall), who wound up 67th.
On the men’s side, senior
Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) led the way as usual, this time turning in a 65th-place finish. Freshman
Caleb Arnold (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) was 71st, freshman
John Compton (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) was 79th and freshman
Chris Petrik (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) finished 80th.
Next: 10/19 @ Ohio Northern
October 8, 2002
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| Becky Barnes |
The Tiger cross country teams turned in strong performances at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago last weekend. The women's team had the better overall performance, finishing an impressive 19th in a field of more than 35 teams that included numerous Division I and II schools.
Leading the way for the women's team was senior
Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), who appears to be rounding into form even earlier this year than she did in 2001, when she won the NCAC individual championship. Gerstle finished 48th in the competition and was one of nine women's runners to post a season-best time at Loyola. Among the other runners who posted strong finishes was junior
Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall), who dropped her time by more than two minutes.
On the men's side, six runners posted season-best times for an 8,000 meter race. Senior
Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) wasn't one of them, but he did lead the team with a 223rd place finish in a field of more than 500 runners as part of 45 teams, many of them Division I and II schools.
The Tigers are back in action this weekend at the All-Ohio Invitational hosted by Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, Ohio. This is another opportunity for Wittenberg runners to take on teams and runners from schools in other divisions as almost every college in the state participates.
Next: 10/11 at All-Ohio Invitational - hosted by Ohio Wesleyan
September 17, 2002
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| Nick Dewald |
Another week, another solid meet and a number of fine individual results at the Cedarville University Friendship Invitational at John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs.
On the men’s side, the Tigers finished sixth in a field that didn’t include another Division III team. Senior
Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) led the way for the Tigers with a 29th-place finish in a season-best time of 28:04.82. Freshman
John Compton (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) and
Caleb Arnold (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) were next with finishes of 34th and 35th. Both runners posted personal best times as they adjust to the longer courses used by collegiate athletes.
Junior
Tim Damopoulos (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) claimed 37th in a season-best time of 29:15.25 and freshman
Chris Petrik (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) rounded out Wittenberg’s scorers with a 39th place finish, also in a personal-best time.
On the women’s side, senior
Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) was in her customary position in front of the Tiger pack. She put up a time of 19:21.29, a 20-second drop from the previous week when she posted a then-course record. Gerstle placed ninth and led the Tigers to a sixth-place finish as a team in a field devoid of other Division III teams.
Sophomore
Lindsay Veit (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) was next for the Tigers with a 26th-place finish in a personal best time of 21:15.38. Freshman
Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer) finished 33rd, sophomore
Marissa Davoll (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) wound up 35th and junior
Libby Weaver (Portland, Ind./Jay County) took 39th to round out the team’s top five scorers.
The Tigers are off the next two weekends before making their annual trek to the huge Loyola Lakefront Invitational on Oct. 5.
Next: 10/5 at Loyola (Ill.) Lakefront Invitational
September 10, 2002
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| Caleb Arnold |
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| Abi Gerstle |
The Tiger cross country teams kicked off their season on Aug. 31 at the University of Dayton in a non-scored meet and then hosted the Wittenberg Invitational at John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs on Sept. 7. In both events, the Tigers turned in some strong individual times as they begin to build toward big meets in October and the NCAC Championship meet on Nov. 2, which will also be hosted by Wittenberg in Yellow Springs.
On the men's side, freshman
Caleb Arnold (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) has emerged as the team's front-runner in both races, turning in times of 17:11 in the 5K race at UD and 28:36 in the 8,000-meter race hosted by Wittenberg. He finished 15th at UD and 11th at Wittenberg.
Right behind Arnold is senior
Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior), the team's No. 1 or 2 runner each of the last years. He finished 20th at UD in a time of 17:55 and 12th at Wittenberg in 28:47. At each meet, the next three men's finishers, in various order, have been freshman
John Compton (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee), freshman
Chris Petrik (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) and junior
Tim Damopoulos (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City).
On the women's side, a familiar face is once again leading the Tiger pack. Senior
Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), fresh off back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division III national championship meet the last two years, was the team's leading finisher at the University of Dayton and then set a course record of 19:44 at the Wittenberg Invitational. She defeated all challengers in the Wittenberg meet by at least eight seconds, including several runners expected to challenge for her 2001 NCAC individual title.
In recognition of her outstanding performance in finishing first at the Wittenberg Invitational, Gerstle was named NCAC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week.
Following Gerstle in both meets was freshman
Tracy Butler (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead), who turned in a time of 20:39 at the Wittenberg Invitational, good for eight place. Freshman
Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer) and sophomore
Marissa Davoll (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) have turned in top-five scoring times for the Tigers in each meet as well.
Next: 9/14 at Cedarville Friendship Invitational
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