The Tiger women celebrated a Wittenberg Invitational title in 2008.

Springfield, Ohio — The Wittenberg University men's and women's cross country teams continue the 2009 season with the annual Wittenberg Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 12, at John Bryan State Park in nearby Yellow Springs. Five schools – Capital University, Cedarville University, Cincinnati Christian, Grace Bible College and Urbana University – are scheduled to join the host Tigers in the competition, which starts with the men's eight-kilometer race at 10:15 a.m. and concludes the with women's five-kilometer race at 11 a.m.

Wittenberg kicked off the 2009 campaign with a solid race at the University of Dayton's Meijer Flyer 5K on Sept. 5. Wittenberg's women finished second in the Intercollegiate Division of their first competition under third-year Head Coach Craig Penney, while the men placed fourth. In a race that included nine NCAA Division I or II scholarship programs, Wittenberg scored top-40 finishes overall Darcy Dubuc, class of 2012 from Grand Haven, Mich., and Anna Henry, class of 2012 from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, in 17th and 35th places, respectively, in the women's competition. On the men's side, Kevin Frick, class of 2011 from Columbus, Ohio, placed 39th overall.

The Tiger men placed second and the women first in the 2008 Wittenberg Invitational. Gabe Savage, class of 2009, led the men with an eighth-place finish, while Dubuc captured the individual women's title in a time of 21:46 in a competition held at the Springfield Masonic Home.

The Tiger men went on to finish seventh in the North Coast Athletic Conference championships and the Tiger women placed fourth. The finish was the men's team's best since 1999 and the women's team's best ever.

Written by: Ryan Maurer
Photo by: Robert Gantt

Related Links: Wittenberg Men's Cross Country Home Page Wittenberg Women's Cross Country Home Page