Surtees Leads Women's XC to 12th-Place Finish at NCAA Meet

RESULTS

Hanover, Ind., November 22, 2008 – Sophomore Taryn Surtees led the Washington University women’s cross country team to a 12th-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Division III Championships, held at the L.S. Ayers Sports Complex in Hanover, Ind., on Saturday morning. The Bears finished in third place at the 2007 NCAA Championships and the women’s squad was making its fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA Championship meet.

Surtees finished the 6K course in 21:36.03, which was good for 30th place overall in a field of the top 279 competitors in the nation. By finishing in the top-35 Surtees earns U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-America honors for the first time in her career. Earlier this season, she won the 2008 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship individual title in leading the Bears to a runner-up finish at the conference meet.

Middlebury College won the women’s 2008 NCAA Championship with 179 team points, and Washington U. tallied 371 points for its 12th-place finish. The Red and Green were the top finishers from the UAA, edging 2008 UAA Champion Case Western Reserve, who finished in 16th at the NCAA meet with 402 points. Emory University also competed in Saturday’s championship, grabbing 24th with a team score of 488.

After Surtees, freshman Elizabeth Phillips was the next finisher for the Bears, coming in 82nd place with a time of 22:18.84. Junior Molly Schlamb scored 64 points and came in 102nd overall with a time of 22:31.08, and junior Hope Rathnam submitted a time of 22:57.45, to score 109 points and take 158th overall. Rounding out the scorers for Washington University was freshman Erica Jackey, whose time of 23:05.06 was good for 174th place.