Women's Cross Country Places 18th at NCAA Regionals
Nov 17, 2014
PELLA, Iowa - Fabiola Ortiz ran to a 38th place finish and the University of Dubuque women's cross country team placed 18th at the NCAA Division III Central Regional meet by Central College.
Carleton took home the regional title after scoring a mere 60 points, while St. Olaf secured the other automatic bid to the NCAA National meet with 81 points.
The Spartans (521 points) took down three IIAC opponents after narrowly slipping by Simpson (523 points), but outdistancing Coe (735 points).
Their 18th place finish was a five-spot improvement from last year's 23rd place showing at Regionals. Nearly every Spartan runner either set a course (CPR) or overall personal record (OPR) on the chilly afternoon. A majority of the course records were set earlier this year at the Dutch Invitational when the weather forecast read 75 degrees and calm.
"Our young runners weren't intimidated by the cold or the level of competition. The Central region, to me, is the most complete region out of all the qualifying meets for the NCAA National Meet. Every team has a quality squad", said assistant coach Geoff Gundlach on quality of competition and team mentality going into meet.
Ortiz paced UD with a 22:53, just 15 seconds away from tying the school record. Her personal record was over a minute faster than her 23:54 at their season-opening Dutch Invitational. She was followed by a pair of seniors in Brenda Nava (99th, 24:10, OPR) and Rachel Busjahn (116th, 24:35, CPR). Nava saved her career best for last after moving up to 8th all-time in the Spartan record books.
The rest of the Spartan Five were filled by freshmen Skylar Brooks (131st, 24:57, OPR) and Kristin Mackenburg (137th, 25:08, OPR). Kiersten Wenthold (144th, 25:19, CPR) and Sybbie Sears (152nd, 25:52) rounded out the Varsity roster.
"The women had some great PR's and were all excited for each other and their team's effort at the finish. It was great progress and we are excited for this hardworking group's upcoming future", said Gundlach.
|
Runner |
Old |
2014 Regional |
Old/Current |
|
Ortiz |
23:54 |
22:53 |
23:05 |
|
Nava |
26:04 |
24:10 |
24:31 |
|
Busjahn |
25:09 |
24:35 |
24:20 |
|
Brooks |
26:15 |
24:57 |
25:13 |
|
Mackenburg |
27:03 |
25:08 |
25:48 |
|
Wenthold |
26:21 |
25:19 |
25:13 |
Most of the women will transition to indoor track with their first meet occurring on December 5th in a dual meet with Loras at the Chlapaty Recreation and Wellness Center's indoor track.
2014 NCAA Women's Cross Country Central Regional
