DEPAUW TIGERS EARN FOURTH NCAC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
DePauw captured its fourth consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship on Saturday, Oct. 30, in Springfield, Ohio.
DePauw's 32-point performance propelled the team to its fourth title since joining the conference in 2011. Allegheny finished runner-up with 71 points, while Denison claimed third, posting 79 points. Wabash crossed in fourth (104) and Oberlin rounded out the top-five with 147 points. Wittenberg (172), Wooster (184), Kenyon (209) and Ohio Wesleyan (219) completed the nine-team field.
Denison senior Keanan Ginell (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley) was named the 2021 NCAC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year after he broke the tape on the 8K Championship course in 25:56.4. It's Ginell's second all-conference nod after earning second-team honors in 2019. DePauw freshman Jacob Kissling (Warsaw, IN/Warsaw) was runner-up, earning the NCAC Newcomer of the Year award for his efforts. The Newcomer of the Year award goes to the highest placing first-time runner at the championships.
DePauw sophomore Bailey Scott (Galveston, IN/Lewis Cass) was third overall (26:17.3), earning his first all-conference selection, while Wittenberg freshman Conor Kolka (Dexter, MI/Dexter) also nabbed his first All-NCAC honor after claiming fourth (26:37.2). DePauw sophomore Hudson Alden (Carmel, IN/Carmel) was the fifth-place finisher (26:40.1), Allegheny sophomore Sean Heintzleman (Pittsburgh, PA/Winchester Thurston) earned sixth (26:44.0) and Allegheny senior Logan Meyer (Mount Vernon, OH/Mount Vernon) rounded out the All-NCAC first-team in seventh (26:44.3). It was Meyer's second all-conference selection after being named to the second team in 2019.
DePauw head coach Kori Stoffregen was named the 2021 NCAC men's cross country Coach of Year for the fourth consecutive year to round out the 2021 awards.
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| Runner of the Year |
Newcomer of the Year |
Coach of the Year |
| Keanan Ginell, Denison |
Jacob Kissling, DePauw |
Kori Stoffregen, DePauw |
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ALLEGHENY CAPTURES 2021 NCAC WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TITLE
Allegheny captured the 2021 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Women's Cross Country Championship on Saturday, Oct. 30. The Gators finished with a total of 33 points to claim their 15th overall NCAC title.
DePauw finished second in the team standings with 71 points, while Wooster (97), Kenyon (109) and Oberlin (130) rounded out the top five. Wittenberg (135) took sixth place, followed by Denison (143) in seventh and Ohio Wesleyan (218) in eighth.
Allegheny junior Megan Aaron (Cranberry Twp, PA/Seneca Valley) claimed the 2021 NCAC Women's Runner of the Year honor after she posted a winning 6K time of 22:43.7 on the championship course. Sophomore Gator teammate Emma Wall (Douglas, MA/Douglas) finished in second place (23:25.4), earning 2021 NCAC Women's Newcomer of the Year honors after posting the top individual finish by a student-athlete in their first year of collegiate competition.
Kenyon junior Emma Becker (Rocky River, OH/Magnificat) earned her second first-team All-NCAC honor with a third-place finish (23:32.2) after claiming NCAC Runner of the Year in 2019. Denison senior Emily Wilson (Dunstable, MA/Groton-Dunstable) finished in fourth with a time of 23:34.4 for her second All-NCAC certificate after earning honorable mention laurels in 2018. Allegheny senior Molly Tarvin (New Tripoli, PA/Northwest Lehigh) earned her third All-NCAC honor with a fifth-place finish (23:36.5) after claiming second-team honors in 2019 and an honorable-mention selection in 2018. Wooster sophomore Athena Tharenos (St. Louis, MO/Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School) finished in sixth-place in a time of 23:38.1, while Wooster junior Isabelle Hoover (Millersport, OH/Fairfield Union) made her first-team debut with a seventh-place finish (23:41.1) after claiming second-team honors in both 2018 and 2019.
Allegheny's Ben Mourer was voted the 2021 Women's Coach of the Year after the Gators took home their 15th title in program history. This was Mourer's third Coach of the Year award (2017, 2016).
DePauw Men & Allegheny Women Top 2021 NCAC Cross Country Pre-Championship Polls
CLEVELAND, OH – Three-time defending men's cross country champion DePauw and 14-time women's cross country champion Allegheny have been tabbed as the favorites to win their respective 2021 conference titles based on pre-championship balloting by league coaches.
The 2021 NCAC Cross Country Championships will be held this Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ohio. The men's 8k race will begin at 11:00 a.m., followed by the women's 6k race at 12:15 p.m. Wittenberg is serving as the host for the championships.
The Tigers, who won the last three NCAC men's cross country titles, received all nine first-place votes totaling the maximum 81 points. Allegheny was voted second, receiving 71 points, and is looking for its 14th NCAC title in program history. Denison was tabbed third with 64 points, followed by Wittenberg (48), Wabash (44), Oberlin (43), Ohio Wesleyan (23), Wooster (22) and Kenyon (9).
The Gator women, who are searching for their 15th NCAC title and first since 2017, earned all eight first-place votes totaling 64 points. DePauw secured the second position compiling 53 points and is aiming for its first NCAC cross country title in program history. Wooster checked in at third with 49 points, followed by Kenyon (36), Wittenberg (35), Oberlin (26), Denison (17) and Ohio Wesleyan (8).
Four of the top-10 men from 2019 return for this season's conference championship race. Allegheny junior and 2019 NCAC Newcomer of the Year, Owen Isham (State College, PA/State College Area) returns after taking home a sixth-place finish at the 2019 championships. He is joined by senior teammate Tim Weighart (Brookline, MA/Brookline) who placed seventh overall in 2019. Denison senior Keanan Ginell (Naperville, IL/Nequa Valley) finished eighth in 2019 and Allegheny senior Logan Meyer (Mount Vernon, OH/Mount Vernon) returns from a ninth-place finish two years ago.
On the women's side, Kenyon senior Emma Becker (Rocky River, OH/Magnificat) returns to defend her title after being crowned conference champion in 2019. DePauw senior and 2018 NCAC Newcomer of the Year, Jenny Noll (LaPorte, IN/LaPorte) returns after a fifth-place finish two years ago. Wooster senior Isabelle Hoover (Millersport, OH/Fairfield Union) also looks for a strong performance after a 10th place finish at the 2019 championships.
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2021 NCAC Cross Country Pre-Championship Coaches' Polls
(first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total point)
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WOMEN
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MEN
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1.
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Allegheny (8)
|
64
|
1.
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DePauw (9)
|
81
|
|
2.
|
DePauw
|
53
|
2.
|
Allegheny
|
71
|
|
3.
|
Wooster
|
49
|
3.
|
Denison
|
64
|
|
4.
|
Kenyon
|
36
|
4.
|
Wittenberg
|
48
|
|
5.
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Wittenberg
|
35
|
5.
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Wabash
|
44
|
|
6.
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Oberlin
|
26
|
6.
|
Oberlin
|
43
|
|
7.
|
Denison
|
17
|
7.
|
Ohio Wesleyan
|
23
|
|
8.
|
Ohio Wesleyan
|
8
|
8.
|
Wooster
|
22
|
|
|
|
9.
|
Kenyon
|
9
|