NORTON, OH - All 17 North Coast Athletic Conference cross country teams competed at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional in Norton, Ohio, hosted by John Carroll University on Saturday, November 11th.
On the men’s side, Wabash placed 10th to lead all NCAC teams with 378 points. Wittenberg followed behind Wabash in 11th (413), while Oberlin finished 16th (453). Wooster claimed 17th place (471) over DePauw (480) by nine points. Rounding out the NCAC teams were Denison in 20th (534), Kenyon in 21st (551), and Ohio Wesleyan in 23rd (611). Hiram was represented by first-year duo
Ty Klepper (Sandusky, OH/Perkins) and
Nathan Cooper (Genoa, OH/Genoa Area) in the Terriers’ first regional appearance since reinstating the program.
Wittenberg’s senior
Conor Kolka (Dexter, MI/Dexter) was the top-NCAC finisher, crossing the line in 23:58.7 in fourth place. Wooster duo
Will Calendar (Seattle, WA/Roosevelt) and
Drew Robertson (Bébalem, Chad/Rift Valley Academy (Kenya)) finished 21st and 22nd, with .4 seconds separating them. Calendar crossed the finish line in 24:31.4 while Roberston had a time of 24:31.8. Wabash’s
Brayden Curnutt (Kokomo, IN/Western) highlighted the Little Giant squad after he finished 32nd with a time of 24:43.2.
On the women’s side, DePauw (90) finished second after a tiebreaker with No. 18-ranked Calvin (90). Wittenberg finished behind DePauw claiming sixth (205), while Ohio Wesleyan and Oberlin finished outside the top ten placing 11th (305) and 13th (366). Rounding out the NCAC competition were Wooster in 20th (652), Kenyon in 21st (652), Denison in 26th (745), and Hiram in 39th (1185).
Wittenberg’s sophomore
Ella Webster (Van Buren, OH/Van Buren High School) was the top-NCAC finisher for the women. Webster finished sixth in regional competition with a time of 20:54.0, one tenth of a second behind fifth place. The DePauw Tigers had all five of their scoring runners finish within the top-25. Junior
Sophie Porter (Westfield, IN/Westfield) was the first Indiana Tiger to cross the finish line, completing the 6k in 21:15.2. Senior
Meredith Sierpina (Louisville, KY/Louisville Collegiate), first-year
Grace Flores (Boerne, TX/Boerne-Samuel V. Champion), and junior
Lily Monnett (Cloverdale, IN/Cloverdale) claimed 16th, 17th, and 18th place, respectively, against regional competition. First-year
Grace Thomas (Valparaiso, IN/Valparaiso) rounded out the DePauw squad placing 24th with a time of 21:35.5.
The top team from each of the 10 regional championships advance to the Division III Championships; the NCAA will announce the 22 at-large teams for the Championships on Sunday, November 12th. The top seven individuals from each region not on a qualifying team will also advance to the championships.
The 2023 NCAA Division III Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships will be held at Big Spring High School in Newville, PA with Dickinson College serving as the host. The races will be November 19th with the women's 6K beginning at 11:00 a.m. and the men's 8K scheduled for 12:00 p.m.