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It was the third national championship appearance in her career, a feat accomplished only once before in program history by Abi Gerstle in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Pfeifer ran a 22:05.87 to post her best time in a national championship, and her final spot of 68th was just one place behind her 2009 finish of 67th, making it the third-best Wittenberg performance ever at a national meet.
Pfeifer qualified for the national meet following an impressive seventh-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional Championship, the best regional finish ever for a Tiger. The national field numbered 277, placing Pfeifer in the top 25 percent of finishers.
The women's team championship was won by Washington University of St. Louis, while the individual champion was Chiara Del Piccolo of Williams.
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Pfeifer became just the second Wittenberg cross country runner, male or female, to reach the NCAA Division III National Championships three times in a collegiate career with a seventh-place finish in the 2011 regional competition at Oberlin. Pfeifer matched the achievements of Abi Gerstle, class of 2003, as she placed seventh in the 251-runner field assembled at Oberlin.
Her seventh-place regional finish was the best of Pfeifer's illustrious collegiate career, as well as the best ever for a Tiger runner. Gerstle's best finish was eighth in her four appearances at regional meets. Pfeifer covered the flat, fast course at Oberlin in a time of 21:57.82, just two seconds behind Case Western's Natalia Cabrera for sixth place. Aliso Steinbrunner from Ohio Northern won the event in a time of 21:27.74.
Pfeifer's finish propelled the Tiger women to an 11th place as a team in the 36-team field.. She was followed by sophomore Molly King (Springfield, Ohio/Northeastern) in 42nd place with a time of 22:52.68.
Senior Anna Henry (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) wrapped up her collegiate career with a 79th-place finish. The other scorers for the Tigers were sophomore Shannon Kelleher (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) in 100th and sophomore Maggie McIlvain (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) in 131st.
The Tiger men placed 26th out of 35 teams, led by junior Trevor Grandy (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) in 74th place with a time if 26:47.88.
He was followed by senior Jarrett Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) in 102nd place. The other point-scorers for Wittenberg were sophomore Wade Westbrook (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) in 131st, senior Kyler Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) in 167th and sophomore Jacob Kuntz (Versailles, Ky./Woodford) in 173rd.
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Wabash was the pre-meet favorite on the men's side, and the Little Giants didn't disappoint, putting five runners in the top 22 to outdistance Allegheny by 13 points. The Gators had four of the top 14 runners in the 116-runner field to finish second, followed by Ohio Wesleyan with 67 points, Oberlin (115), DePauw (140), Denison (146), Wooster (193), Kenyon (201), Wittenberg (207) and Hiram (289).
Oberlin was also the coaches pick in the women's competition, and the Yeowomen turned in a dominating performance, claiming five of the top 10 spots int he 98-runner field to post a team score of 32. Ohio Wesleyan was a distant second with 103 points, followed by DePauw (111), Kenyon (117), Wittenberg (123), Allegheny (136), Wooster (142), Denison (153) and Hiram (290).
The men's individual champion was senior Dee Salukombo of Denison with a time of 25:09. He moved up from third place a year ago while improving his time by 35 seconds. Wabash's Kevin McCarthy placed second with a time of 25:15, 10 seconds ahead of DePauw's Noah Draddy in third. Brian Edwards from Wabash and Kevin Edwards from Allegheny rounded out the top five.
Wittenberg's top finisher was sophomore Jacob Kuntz (Versailles, Ky./Woodford), who placed 38th in the final standings. Junior Trevor Grandy (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) was next in 42nd, followed by senior Jarrett Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) in 46th, junior Adam Markins (Chillicothe, Ohio/Union Scioto) in 50th and senior Kyler Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) in 56th.
The women's race was captured by Ohio Wesleyan sophomore Cara DeAngelis, who crossed the finish line in 22:10. She improved her time by more than a minute from the 2010 meet, when she finished fifth in a race hosted by Wabash. Molly Martorella of Oberlin placed second, seven seconds behind the winning time. Jenna Willet of Kenyon, Kristina Martin of Allegheny and Carey Lyons of Oberlin rounded out the top five.
The top finisher for the host team was senior Mary Pfeifer (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), who reached the finish line in 23:08, good for seventh place. She was followed closely by sophomore Molly King (Springfield, Ohio/Northeastern) with a time of 23:25. Rounding out the Tiger point-scorers were senior Anna Henry (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) in 28th, sophomore Maggie McIlvain (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) in 42nd and sophomore Shannon Kelleher (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) in 43rd.
The win for Wabash was a program first since joining the NCAC in 2000. It broke a six-year run by Allegheny, which beat the Little Giants by 29 points a year ago on Wabash's home course.
The women's team title was the third straight and fifth all-time for Oberlin.
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Senior Mary Pfeifer (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) led the Tiger women with an impressive 20th-place finish on a time of 19:12.80 on the 5k course as the Tigers competed against every NCAA Division III school in Ohio.
Fellow North Coast Athletic Conference member Oberlin College took the women's Division III title, followed by Ohio Athletic Conference schools Ohio Northern University and John Carroll University.
Behind Pfeifer, sophomore Molly King (Springfield, Ohio/Northeastern) crossed the line in 25th with a time of 19:18.61 and senior Anna Henry (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) finished 49th with a time of 19:57.87. Sophomore Maggie McIlvain (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) ran a 20:29.45 in a 69th-place finish to round out the Tigers' top 70 finishes among a field of 150 runners.
On the men's side, senior Jarrett Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) was the first Tiger across the finish line, placing 54th in a field of 147 with a time of 27:40.12 on the 8k course.
Ohio Northern took home the men's Division III title, followed by Ohio Wesleyan University and the University of Mount Union.
Behind Cowgill, junior Adam Markins (Chillicothe, Ohio/Union Scioto) placed 62nd with a time of 27:53.60 and junior Trevor Grandy (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) finished 70th with a time of 28:00.03.
The Tigers are back in action on Friday, Oct. 14, at the Wilmington Invitational hosted by Wilmington College.
John Strawn '07

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Sophomore Molly King (Springfield, Ohio/Northeastern) turned in her best collegiate finish at 10th among 152 competitors on a time of 23:43.8 on the 6-kilometer course. King was joined in the top 20 by senior Mary Pfeifer (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), who captured 14th place with a time of 23:56.8.
Other top finishers for the Tiger women included senior Anna Henry (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) in 21st on a time of 24:25.6, sophomore Maggie McIlvain (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) with a 26th-place finish on a time of 25:02.5, and sophomore Shannon Kelleher (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) in 28th with a time of 25:08.1.
For the men, sophomore Sean Redfield (Fredonia, NY/St. Francis) led the way in 53rd on a time of 28:50.3 on the 8-kilometer course, followed closely by freshman Andrew Ziminski (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) in 55th at 28:52.9. Senior Ryan Hagen (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island) rounded out the men's top 70 finishers at 61st on a time of 29:11.7.
The Tigers hit the ground again on Friday, Sept. 30, at the All-Ohio Championships hosted by Cedarville University.
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Ohio Wesleyan topped a seven-team field on the men's side with 28 points, putting its top five finishers in the top 10 to easily outdistance second-place Wittenberg. The Tigers checked in with 75 points, followed by North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rivals Denison (81), Kenyon (82) and Wooster (85) in a top pack that rounded out the top five. Capital finished sixth with 184 points and Urbana placed seventh with 222.
On the women's side, Ohio Wesleyan again stood atop a seven-team field, with all five Battling Bishops placing in the top 20 to squeak past Wooster by two points. OWU totalled 56 points to Wooster's 58, followed closely by Wittenberg with 69. Kenyon and Denison tied for fourth with 84 apiece, followed by Capital (154) and Urbana (225).
The men's race was won individually by Denison All-American Dee Salukombo, who crossed the finish line in a time of 25:51, a full 30 seconds ahead of Ohio Wesleyan's Evan Hitchcock. Alexander Chappars of Denison placed third, followed by Shane Brandt of Ohio Wesleyan and Patrick Meyers of Kenyon, who rounded out the top five.
Wittenberg's top finished by junior Trevor Grandy (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), who finished the 8-kilometer race in 27:01, good for 11th place. The key to the Tigers' strong team finish was a good pack of runners right behind Grandy, as Wittenberg put four runners in the next seven positions.
Leading that pack was junior Adam Markins (Chillicothe, Ohio/Union Scioto) in 14th place, followed by senior Jarrett Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) in 15th, sophomore Wade Westbrook (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) in 17th and sophomore Jacob Kuntz (Versailles, Ky./Woodford) in 18th.
Capital's Emma McCarron topped the field in the women's 5-kilometer race as she reached the finish in 18:59, 13 seconds ahedad of Jenn Willett from Kenyon. Hannah Sampson from Ohio Wesleyan placed third, Colleen O'Neil from Wooster took fourth, and Wittenberg senior Mary Pfeifer (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) checked in at No. 5.
Sophomore Molly King (Springfield, Ohio/Northeastern) was the next Tiger finisher, placing eighth in a time of 19:49. She was followed by senior Anna Henry (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) in 11th, sophomore Shannon Kelleher (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) and sophomore Maggie McIlvain (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) in 25th.
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The Tiger women placed seventh among 18 teams in the event, with just four of the teams higher in the pack being Division III programs. Wittenberg finished third among six North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) teams in the field. The Tiger men finished 10th out of 17, ending up just one point behind the host Battling Bishops and just 16 behind Denison, both NCAC rivals.
The women were paced as usual by senior Mary Pfeifer (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), who placed 15th in a time of 19:39. She was followed by sophomore Molly King (Springfield, Ohio/Northeastern), who finished 27th in 19:54, and senior Anna Henry (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston), who covered the 5K course in a time of 20:18 to finish 43rd. Sophomores Shannon Kelleher (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) and Maggie McIlvain (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) rounded out the Tigers' top-50 finishers as they placed 46th in a time of 20:23 and 50th in 20:26, respectively.
On the men's side, the Tigers' pace was set by junior Trevor Grandy (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), who placed 29th in a time of 27:30. Next in line for Wittenberg was senior Jarrett Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) in 38th in a time of 27:41 and sophomore Jacob Kuntz (Versailles, Ky./Woodford) in 51st in 28:02. Also in the top 60 was junior Adam Markins (Chillicothe, Ohio/Union Scioto), who placed 60th with a time of 28:16.
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Sophomore Wade Westbrook (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) paced the men with a 28th-place finish in the intercollegiate division, and 59th overall, while senior Mary Pfeifer (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) led the women with a 7th-place finish in the intercollegiate division, and 27th-place overall finish.
Sophomore Molly King (Springfield, Ohio/Northeastern) was close behind Pfeifer in 32nd, and senior Anna Henry (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) turned in a finish of 54th. Sophomore Maggie McIlvain (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) in 68th and sophomore Shannon Kelleher (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) in 80th rounded out the Tigers top five finishers.
For the men, junior Trevor Grandy (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) followed Westbrook in 31st, and senior Jarrett Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) was not far behind in 35th. Junior Adam Markins (Chillicothe, Ohio/Union Scioto) in 40th and senior Kyler Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) in 43rd completed the men's top five finishers.
The Tigers resume competition next Saturday at the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational at Liberty Park in Delaware, Ohio.