Turkovich Paces Tigers To First NCAC Cross Country Championship
The Wittenberg Tiger Cross Country teams traveled to the College of Wooster on Saturday to compete in the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships. The Wittenberg women's showed up and showed out, surpassing expectation and capturing their first NCAC championship in program history. Leading the way for the Wittenberg women, Corin Turkovich capturing the individual first-place finish and First Team All-NCAC honors, crossing the line in a time of 23:36.7. Turkovich is just the third individual NCAC champion for the Wittenberg Women's Cross Country program and the first since Abi Gerstle, capturing back-to-back first-place finishes in 2001 and 2002.
Following close behind Turkovich, Sophomore Sydney Khosla placed third, running a time of 23:51.9 – earning her the First Team All-NCAC honors. Sophomore Kiki Krohmer secured a 10th place finish overall, running a time of 24:23.3, securing Second Team All-NCAC accolades. Emma Hawk placed 11th overall, with a time of 24:23.5, joining Krohmer on the Second Team All-NCAC list. Rounding out the top 15 finishers for Wittenberg were Ella Webster (14th) and Megan Keys (15th). Webster ran a time of 24:30.0, securing a Second Team All-NCAC finish. Keys ran an overall time of 24:36.3 landing a spot on the Third Team All-NCAC list. Emma Scritchfield and Morgan Ely cracked the top 25, with Scritchfield placing 22nd, running a time of 25:17.8. Scritchfield was the 7th place runner for the Tigers. The Tigers second senior, Ely placed 24th overall, crossing the line in a time of 25:32.9.
At the conclusion of the race, Hilliard, Litz and Juarez were properly recognized as the 2022 NCAC Women's Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year after completing one of the most dramatic program turnarounds in recent history as the women finished in eighth place in each of the last three NCAC Championships. Prior to the 2022 championship, the women's highest finish at the NCAC Cross Country Championships was a second-place showing in 2009.
Wittenberg will now set their sites on the NCAA Regional meet hosted by Hope College on Saturday, November 12.