Colorado College placed third, while Trinity came in fifth during their respective regionals in NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country action on Saturday morning.
MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - The Trinity women's cross country team finished fifth at the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Cross Country Regional on Saturday. Results
Molly McCullough was runner-up in the women's 6k race, earning a spot in the NCAA Championships next week.
Joining McCullough on the All-Region Team from Trinity were Lexi Phelps, Laura Taylor, and Melissa Whitman, while Allison Hill and Emma MacEachern finished just outside of the top 35, and narrowly missed All-Region accolades.
McCullough jumped from 26th place in last year's regional meet to her second-place finish this season.
Texas Lutheran's Sarah Fritzsche led the Bulldogs in 59th place, while teammates Breauna Gabriel took 109th, Ashley Rynard finished 127th and Ciara Rodriguez placed 132nd.
Southwestern University only had two runners, Trinh Ha and Morgan Forteith who finished 154th and 157th, respectively.
Trinity's women's fifth place finish - out of 27 teams - was just one point behind fourth-place finisher Washington & Lee (VA) University. Emory (GA) University won the team title.
Trinity's women have now placed a team or individual at the NCAA Championships event for nine of the past 10 seasons.
Southwestern and Texas Lutheran and did not have enough runners to score as a team.
BUSH PARK SALEM, Ore. - Two weeks after winning its third consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship, the Colorado College women's cross country team posted a third-place finish at the NCAA Division III West Regional Championships Saturday in Salem, Ore. The Tigers posted 93 points, behind meet winner Whitworth with 82 and Claremont with 86. Results
Seniors Leah Wessler and Katie Sandfort qualified for next weekend's NCAA Division III National Championships in Louisville, Ky., by placing sixth and eighth, respectively. Wessler, the reigning three-time SCAC champion, completed the 6K course in a time of 22.19.9, while Sandfort inished with a time of 22:33.8.
Whitworth and Claremont automatically qualify for the national meet, along with the top seven individuals that are not on those two or other teams selected as at-large teams.
Senior Stefanie Messick finished 20th with a time of 23:15.6, freshman Jerrica Bauer was 29th in 23:63.3, senior Allie Cummins was 32nd in 23:41.5 and sophomore Leah Veldhuisen was CC's final scoring runner and finished 36th in 23:55.02. Messick, Bauer and Crimmins joined Wessler and Sandfort on the all-region team by finishing in the top 35.
Beyond the automatic team qualifiers, the NCAA Committee can award at-large berths on Sunday to the eight regions based on team strength, so it is possible for Colorado College to be selected to Nationals.
