Keelee Ridder

After the Wittenberg women's track and field team took small strides toward the top of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) in 2008, Head coach Craig Penney brings back a wealth of talent and welcomes a strong incoming class that he hopes will keep the Tigers headed in the right direction.

One of the Tigers' biggest strengths in 2009 is in the field events, where the Tigers return all-conference sophomore pole vaulter Kaitlyn Wesseler (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne), who scored points in both the 2008 indoor and outdoor conference championships, including a third-place finish outdoors. In the process, Wesseler set new school records for both the indoor (9-10) and outdoor (10-0) pole vault.

A pair of freshmen look to make immediate impact for the Tigers in jumping events as Elizabeth Hauser (Ottawa Lake, Mich./Whiteford) and Evianne van de Zande (Zierikzee, The Netherlands) join the squad. Van de Zande could also provide the Tigers some strength in the multi-event competitions.

Sophomore Keelee Riddler (South Vienna, Ohio/Northeastern) leads a relatively young group of Wittenberg throwers in 2009 after she turned in a solid freshman campaign.

In the sprinting events, Wittenberg returns a number of key contributors from an all-conference 4x200-meter relay in 2008. A trio of seniors lead the way, including Tara Osborne (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda), Kristy Parker (Hamilton, Ohio/Ross) and Katie Shoemaker (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin Monroe). Osborne also scored individually for the Red and White in the 100-meter dash. Freshman Tim'ara Gandy (Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline) is also expected to step into a prominent role for the Wittenberg short distance runners.

The Tigers could find their biggest improvement over a year ago in the middle distance and distance events, where a strong 2008 cross country campaign could parlay into points for the Tigers this season. Among the proven returnees, senior Katie McIlvain (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) leads a young group of Tiger harriers against a deep NCAC distance field. McIlvain scored last spring in the indoor mile while also running legs on the 4x400 meter and distance medley relays.

Joining McIlvain in the middle distance events are a trio of proven first-year students, including Jordan Stafford (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon), Samantha Iden (Pickerington, Ohio/North), and Emma Crosby (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rockford).

Expected to make an immediate impact in the distance events are freshmen Mary Pfeifer (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), Anna Henry (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) and Darcy Dubuc (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven). All three landed on the All-NCAC cross country squads in their rookie season - the first Wittenberg runners to accomplish the feat since 2003. Their efforts also spearheaded the best Tiger finish ever (fourth) at the 2008 NCAC Cross Country Championships.

The Tigers' indoor season culminates at the NCAC Indoor Championships March 6-7 at Denison University, followed by the Outdoor Championships May 1-2 at Ohio Wesleyan University.

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