Women's Cross Country First, Men Second at NCAA Midwest Regional
WOMEN RESULTS | MEN RESULTS
Rock Island, Ill., November 12, 2011 – The No. 2 ranked Washington University in St. Louis women’s cross country team won the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional, while the No. 3 ranked Washington U. men finished as the runner-up at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional, held on Saturday, Nov. 12, at Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, Ill.
The Washington U. women scored 24 points to win the regional championship by 91 points over runner-up and No. 7 ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. On the men’s side, WUSTL totaled 114 points to finish as the runner-up behind No. 1 ranked North Central College, who won the team title with 42 points.
“Overall it was a textbook day,” said head coach Jeff Stiles. “Both teams executed perfectly. It was humbling as a coach because all of our runners did everything we asked of them and more. Our goal going in for the women was to have seven in the top 35, so to have our seventh runner finish 19th was fantastic.”
By finishing in the top two in the regional team standings, both teams earned automatic bids to the 2011 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, to be held on Saturday, Nov. 19, in Winneconne, Wis. In addition, the top 35 runners in each race earned all-Region honors.
All seven runners for the Washington U. women finished in the top-20 of the 264-runner race, including five in the top 10. Seniors Erica Jackey and Elizabeth Phillips both completed the 6K course in 21:53.8 to finish second and third overall. The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Christy Cazzola won the individual race in a time of 21:31.1. Freshman Lucy Cheadle finished 1.6 seconds behind Jackey and Phillips to place fifth.
Sophomore Sarah Fisher and senior Molly Wawrzyniak also finished in the top 10 for the Washington U. women, placing sixth and ninth in times of 22:00.4 and 22:08.8, respectively. Also for Washington U., senior Jessica Londeree, finished 14th in 22:31.6 and freshman Grace Bridwell was 19th in 22:41.5.
Senior Michael Burnstein led the Washington U. men with a second-place finish among the 277 runners in the men’s race. He clocked a time of 24:54.9 on the 8K course to finish 13 seconds behind individual champion Matthew Perez of North Central. Junior David Hamm crossed the line in 25:15.4 to finish 10th in the Regional.
“David Hamm had a big day for the men,” Stiles said. “Having him finish in the top-10 was a big boost to the team. His performance really stood out.”
Senior Tucker Hartley also earned all-Region honors by finishing 19th with a time of 25:28.9. Freshman Ryan Senci and sophomore Caleb Ford finished 40th and 43rd in times of 25:53.0 and 25:57.1, respectively, to round out Washington U.’s scoring. Senior Kwin Keuter followed in 47th place with a time of 26:06.1, while sophomore Elliot Petterson ran a time of 26:18.6 to finish in 59th place.
The Washington U. men’s and women’s cross country teams will travel to Oshkosh, Wis., to finish their seasons at the 2011 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship being held at the Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wis.