Conor Kolka Becomes First Two-Time Natonal Qualifier In Program History
| NCAA Division III Championships News Release |
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - For the second straight year, Conor Kolka (Dexter, MI/Dexter) has qualified for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. Kolka is the first runner in program history to advance to the national event twice in his collegiate career.
Kolka advanced to the NCAA Championship after posting a sixth-place finish in the Great Lakes Regional Championships with a time in the 8K race of 24:57.54 on Saturday, Nov. 16, in Shelbyville, Indiana. He led the Tigers to a seventh-place finish in the team standings, the best performance in program history.
A total of 32 teams and 70 additional individuals make up the field for both the men and women at the 2024 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 23. The event is scheduled to take place at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana, with Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology serving as the host. Kolka ran the same course on Saturday, Nov. 2, when DePauw University hosted the 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championships. He finished fourth in that race.
"I'm extremely proud of Conor for how he dealth with adversity," said Wittenberg Track and Field and Cross Country Head Coach Paris Hilliard. "He had a calf injury during the latter part of the season that he battled through and overcame. He worked extremely hard to reach his goal of qualifying for nationals again. We're looking forward to seeing his compete at a very high level at the national championship."
After Wittenberg's women also recorded their best-ever team finish at the regional championship, there were hopes that an at-large berth might be in the offing for the Tigers. The first-place teams at each of the 10 regional championships earn bids to the NCAA meet automatically, with the other 22 spots earned through a process of at-large selections. The Tigers just missed making the field, as the three teams that finished ahead of them are all headed to the national meet (DePauw, Calvin, and Trine).
Individually, the top 13 runners in the women's 6K race at the Great Lakes Regional will all race in the national championships, either as a member of one of the three qualifying teams or as an individual qualifier. The top runner left out of the NCAA meet is Wittenberg senior Megan Keys (Dublin, OH/Jerome), who finished 14th. She is considered an alternate and will continue to train for the national championships in case she gets an opportunity to join the field.
"It's a little bittersweet for our ladies," Hilliard said. "We had a very strong season this year with a great group of women. We finished higher than most people expected us to at the regionals, but being one of the first teams left out of the national meet definitely hurts.
"I know that this will keep our runners motivated."
At the NCAA meet, the women's 6K is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. and the men's 8K will commence at 12 p.m. A live web stream of the championships will be available at NCAA.com until the conclusion of the awards ceremony.