Tigers Prepare for Great Lakes Regional Meet

The Wittenberg University Tigers will be travelling to Hanover College this weekend to compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Cross Country Meet. The Great Lakes Region is comprised of the NCAA Division III schools in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.

The Tigers are headed in to the NCAA Regional meet on a high note. At the NCAC meet on October 28 the majority of the Tigers crossed the finish line in a seasonal best time. Saturday they will be looking for even greater improvement as they compete with the best DIII runners in the area.

On the men's side, Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Senior) and Dave Hyde (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) have been the top runners for Wittenberg. They have both run strong all season and are coming into this meet with personal best times of 26:24.30 and 27:20 respectively. Both runners have a chance to finish in the top 35 naming them on the All-Region team.

On the women's side, Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) is coming into the regional meet off of a third place finish at the Conference meet and Sarah Weide, (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) who earned All-Regional honors last season will be the top runners for the Tigers. Both Gerstle and Weide will running toward a top finish for a chance to qualify for the national meet in Spokane, Washington. The first five individuals as well as the top two teams will qualify for this race on Nov. 18. Melanie Ziarko (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood) has been closing the gap all season and also has a chance to break into the top pack.