November 22, 2000--

Sophomore Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) crossed the finish line in 19:06 at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Meet in Hanover, Ind. on Nov. 11. That put her in eighth place in the entire field and qualified her for the NCAA Division III National Championship Meet in Spokane, Wash. on Nov. 18.

She continued to run well at the national meet, her first appearance on such a national stage, finishing 122nd of 215 competitors. Gerstle ran a time of 19:31.3.

Johanna Olson of Luther College won the event in a time of 17:54.4.

November 18, 2000--

The Wittenberg University Tigers men's cross country team finished 24th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship Meet last weekend in Hanover, Ind.The women’s team wound up 21st in the competition.

The highlight of the meet for the Tigers was the tremendous performance of sophomore Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), who crossed the finish line in 19:06. That put her in eighth place in the entire field and qualified her for the NCAA Division III National Championship Meet in Spokane, Wash. this weekend.

Following Gerstle in the pack was junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), who finished in 20:51, freshman Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall), who ran the course in a time of 21:39, and Melanie Ziarko (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood), who wound up with a time of 21:41.

On the men’s side, sophomore Nick DeWald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) completed a solid campaign with a 40th-place finish in a time of 27:18. He was followed by junior Dave Hyde (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central), who crossed the line in 27:55 and 78th place.

November 9, 2000--

The Wittenberg University Tigers will be travelling to Hanover College this weekend to compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Cross Country Meet. The Great Lakes Region is comprised of the NCAA Division III schools in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.

The Tigers are headed in to the NCAA Regional meet on a high note. At the NCAC meet on October 28 the majority of the Tigers crossed the finish line in a seasonal best time. Saturday they will be looking for even greater improvement as they compete with the best DIII runners in the area.

On the men's side, Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Senior) and Dave Hyde (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) have been the top runners for Wittenberg. They have both run strong all season and are coming into this meet with personal best times of 26:24.30 and 27:20 respectively. Both runners have a chance to finish in the top 35 naming them on the All-Region team.

On the women's side, Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) is coming into the regional meet off of a third place finish at the Conference meet and Sarah Weide, (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) who earned All-Regional honors last season will be the top runners for the Tigers. Both Gerstle and Weide will running toward a top finish for a chance to qualify for the national meet in Spokane, Washington. The first five individuals as well as the top two teams will qualify for this race on Nov. 18. Melanie Ziarko (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood) has been closing the gap all season and also has a chance to break into the top pack.

October 30, 2000--

The Wittenberg University Tigers headed into the North Coast Athletic Confence championship meet at Oberlin College last weekend with the momentum of several straight weeks of improving performances. And while the Tigers runners continued that trend with several more season-best times, the men's team finished seventh in the league meet while the women wound up ninth.

Vince Evener of Kenyon won the men's race and led his team to the overall title. Wittenberg's top finisher was sophomore Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior), who ran a strong time of 26:24.3 to finish 17th and earn Honorable Mention All-NCAC honors. His time was just 107 off Evener's winning time.

In the women's race, the Tigers had several impressive finishes, but the team as a whole just couldn't quite keep pace. Sophomore Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) finished third in 18:50.9, which was a high enough finish for her to claim First Team All-NCAC honors. Her time was just 10 seconds off the winning time turned in by Earlham's Shannan Rieder.

Also recognized among the conference's elite was junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), who ran 13th in a time of 19:33.3. That finish earned her in Second-Team All-NCAC status.

For most of the team's runners, the season will conclude next Saturday at the Great Lakes Regional Championships at Hanover, Ind. Only the top finishers will advance to the NCAA Division III National Championship meet in Spokane, Wash. on Nov. 18.

Next 11/11 @ Great Lakes Regional Championships (Hanover, Ind.)

October 23, 2000--

In a final tune-up for the 2000 North Coast Athletic Conference meet, scheduled for this weekend at Oberlin College, the Wittenberg runners who participated in the Wilmington Fall Invitational did exceptionally well. In particular, junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) and junior Dave Hyde (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) managed top-10 finishes to lead their teams and earn NCAC Player of the Week status (see boxed story above).

On the men's side, Hyde finished 17th with a season best time of 27:20.6. He led the team, which was without top runner Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior), to a 13th-place finish in the meet. Also scoring well for the Tigers were freshman Tim Damopolous (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) and junior Luke Clarkson (Bascom, Ohio/Hopewell-Louden), both of whom posted season best times en route to 56th and 57th place respectively.

For the women, Weide led the Tigers to an 8th-place finish by running a season-best 20:05.7 and finishing 10th. Wittenberg, which was without two of its other top three runners, also got season-best efforts and good finishes from freshman Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall) and freshman Jenny Brill (Worthing, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), who finished 43rd and 47th respectively.

October 16, 2000--

The Tigers traveled to Delaware, Ohio on Friday for an opportunity to measure themselves against the rest of the collegiate runners in the state in the All-Ohio Invitational.

On the men's side, Wittenberg finished 32nd out of 36 teams in the field and 14th of the 18 Division III squads running. Sophomore Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) paced the Tigers, finishing 92nd overall and 25th in Division III in a time of 28:23. Junior Dave Hyde (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) finished 158th overall and 60th Division III in 29:26.

The Tiger women¹s team fared better against a similarly loaded field. Wittenberg finished 25 out of the 36 teams involved, and against just Division III runners, the Tigers were 10th of 18. Sophomore Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) topped the Wittenberg runners with a 74th place finish overall and 12th place finish among the Division III contestants in a time of 21:05. Junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) wound up 91st overall and 21st among Division III runners with a time of 21:18.

October 2, 2000--

The cross country teams travelled to Chicago, Ill. and acquitted themselves well against fields loaded with NCAA Division I and II competition at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational. The Tigers finished 30th of 46 on the men's side, while the women's team wound up 32nd of 54.

Sophomore Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) paced the men's team with a time of 27:04, which was good for an 83rd place finish. He was joined in the crowded field, which included 14 Division I teams and 14 Division II teams, by junior Dave Hyde (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) , who ran a 27:45 and finished 148th. Ironically, DeWald was finished eighth among Division III runners, but he was the only Wittenberg runner who didn't run a season- or career-best time in the meet.

The women's team was paced by sophomore Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) , who turned in a time of 23:53 in the first 6K race of the season for the Tigers. Her time was good for 84th place, but it was the fourth best mark among Division III runners. Junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) also finished strong, crossing the line in 24:10, which put her 101st in the field, which featured 19 Division I teams and 13 Division II squads.

September 25, 2000--

Wittenberg's men's and women's cross country teams both ran well at the 10th Annual Friendship Invitational at Cedarville College Saturday. The men's squad finished 10th in a crowded field, while the women's team wound up eighth.

For the men, several runners ran season-best times and most of the returning letterwinners are already approaching their 1999 season-bests. Sophomore Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) paced the team with a 17th-place finish in the 8K race in 26:58.

Junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) topped the Tiger women in the event, finishing 13th in the 5K race in 19:53. Sophomore Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) also ran well, crossing the line in 20:08, good for 18th place.

September 12, 2000--

Once again battling warm, muggy conditions, the Tigers performed well in their first race against North Coast Athletic Conference competition Saturday at the Wittenberg Invitational. Sophomore Nick DeWald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) paced the men's squad again with a third-place finish in a time of 28:38. Junior Dave Hyde (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) also made a good showing, crossing the finish line in 29:46 in seventh place. Earlham won the meet, while Wittenberg was second and Ohio Wesleyan was third.

On the women's side, junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) finished in 21:19, good for 3rd place. Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) ran the course in 21:32, which placed her fourth in the competition. Again, Earlham won the meet, followed by the host Tigers and Ohio Wesleyan.

September 2, 2000--

Wittenberg University's men's and women's cross country teams both ran well despite the hot, humid conditions at the Flyer 5K Challenge, hosted Saturday by the University of Dayton.

Leading the men's squad, which finished first among Division III teams in the competition, was sophomore Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior), who crossed the finish line eighth with a time of 16:54. Kevin Tscholl of Dayton paced the field in 16:08.

Also finishing among the top 20 were junior David Hyde (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central), who finished 14th with a time of 17:36, junior Luke Clarkson (Bascom, Ohio/Hopewell-Louden), who ran an 18:40 and finished 18th, and junior Scott Huntoon (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor), who ran an 18:53, good for 19th.

On the women's side, Wittenberg also paced the Division III field. Junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) crossed the finish line in 20:53, good for 11th. Tara Storage of Dayton topped the field with a time of 19:28.

Seven Tigers ran among the top 21 runners in the race. Junior Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), senior Katie McClain (Westlake, Ohio/Westlake), freshman Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall), freshman Libby Weaver (Portland, Ind./Jay County), senior Amy Sonnanstine (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth-Canton) and freshman Jenny Brill (Worthington, Ohio/Worthington) rounded out the squad's top finishers.

After the fine start, the Wittenberg harriers will try to carry that momentum over onto their home course. The Wittenberg Invitational takes place Sept. 9, with fellow North Coast Athletic Conference squads Ohio Wesleyan and Earlham participating.