Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Josh Visnaw Rachel Wittum races against her older sister Heather on Saturday at the Mid-American Conference Championships. The freshman on the women's cross country team already has bested her sister twice this season. [Click to enlarge]

Rachel Wittum remembers a time when she used to run alongside her older sister for the cross country team at Rockford High School.

But when Rachel and her sister, Heather Wittum, enrolled to run collegiately, they chose opposite schools.

Rachel decided to don the maroon-and-gold Chippewas uniform, while Heather remained closer to home to become a Western Michigan Bronco.

The sisters get the opportunity to face each other at 11 a.m. Saturday at Riverwood Resort in Mount Pleasant for the Mid-American Conference Championships. The duo already raced against each other Sept. 21 at the Central Collegiates and Oct. 5 at the Michigan Intercollegiates - both near Heather Wittum's home in Kalamazoo.



"I wanted to run well for my team, as she did for hers," Rachel Wittum said. "We really did not think much of competing against each other, just for our teams."

But Saturday, the implications may be more heavily weighted as both teams will be looking to win a title.

Rachel Wittum bested her older sister by more than two minutes, 30 seconds at the Central Collegiates earlier this season in the sisters' first competition as opponents. She did it again at the Michigan Intercollegiates by nearly three minutes.

"When I saw Heather before the meet at Western, we both ran up to each other and gave each other big hugs," Rachel Wittum said. "Then we taunted and picked on each other for our dorky habits."

Whether their habits are dorky doesn't matter as both have found success at the collegiate level. Heather Wittum , a senior at WMU, doesn't seem to mind finishing behind her younger sister.

"Rachel's greatest strength as a runner is her determination," Heather Wittum said. "With her determination comes perseverance and hard work. Rachel never gives up. She is a great athlete. As for me, my toughness is what gets me through the practices and the races."

Continued...

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