Saturday, December 1, 2018

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – It wasn’t front runners that got the job done for GNAC teams Saturday, it was grouping as both Alaska Anchorage and Simon Fraser placed in the top-10 at the NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country Championships, held at the Bob O’Conner Golf Course at Schenley Park.

The Seawolves notched their 11th consecutive top-10 finish in the meet, placing sixth with a score of 255 points. It is the seventh time in that stretch that UAA has finished sixth or better. The Clan finished ninth with a score of 342 points, marking the team’s fourth top-10 finish in as many appearances in the national meet.

Alaska Anchorage placed three of its top-five runners in the top-40, earning All-American honors, and four of its five in the top-50. Senior Zennah Jepchumba led the Seawolves with a 22nd place finish, while junior Emmah Chelimo placed 23rd. Both clocked times of 23:15.5 over 6,000 meters. Sophomore Nancy Jeptoo rounded out the three UAA All-Americans, placing 38th in a time of 23:27.4.

The three were preceded by Central Washington senior Alexa Shindruk, who placed 21st in a time of 23:14.7. Shindruk earned her first cross country All-American trophy a couple of days after being named the winner of the NCAA Elite 90 Award for the meet, honoring the competitor in the meet with the highest cumulative grade point average.

Simon Fraser was led its lone All-American in sophomore Olivia Willett, who placed 36th in a time of 23:26.5. The Clan also received top-100 finishes from freshman Sophia Kaiser, who placed 55th in 23:54.6, and senior Addy Townsend, who placed 70th in 24:06.5.

Seattle Pacific placed 15th with a score of 466 points. The Falcons were led by freshman Kaylee Mitchell, who earned All-American honors with her 35th place time of 23:24.9, and junior Katherine Walter, who placed 85th in 24:18.4.

Western Washington rounded out the four qualifying GNAC teams, placing 20th with a score of 525 points. Sophomore Jane Barr led the Vikings, placing 65th in a time of 24:01.5 while junior Sophia Galvez placed 66th in 24:02.2.

Central Washington had both of the conference’s individual qualifiers in the meet. In addition to Shindruk, sophomore Nicole Soleim placed 57th in a time of 23:55.3.

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Team Scores (Top 10 Plus GNAC): 1, Grand Valley St., 41. 2, Mary, 83. 3, Adams State, 90. 4, Western Colorado, 98. 5, Colorado Mines, 252. 6, Alaska Anchorage, 255. 7, Michigan Tech, 288. 8, Chico State, 300. 9, Simon Fraser, 342. 10, Queens (N.C.), 418. 15, Seattle Pacific, 466. 20, Western Washington, 525.

Top 10 Finishers: 1, Sarah Berger, Grand Valley St., 22:07.7. 2, Eliish Flanagan, Adams State, 22:12.4. 3, Emily Roberts, Mary, 22:15.5. 4, Alicja Koniczek, Western Colorado, 22:30.4. 5, Allie Ludge, Grand Valley St., 22:39.7. 6, Hannah Groeber, Grand Valley St., 22:40.6. 7, Leah Hanle, Mount Olive, 22:50.8. 8, Kayla Wooten, UC Colorado Springs, 22:51.2. 9, Gina Patterson, Grand Valley St., 22:53.3. 10, Eileen Stressling, Azusa Pacific, 22:54.4.

GNAC All-Americans (Top 40 Finishers): 21, Alexa Shindruk, CWU, 23:14.7. 22, Zennah Jepchumba, UAA, 23:15.5. 23, Emmah Chelimo, UAA, 23:15.5. 35, Kaylee Mitchell, SPU, 23:24.9. 36, Olivia Willett, SFU, 23:26.5. 38, Nancy Jeptoo, UAA, 23:27.4.

Other GNAC Finishers: 45, Danielle McCormick, UAA, 23:39.6. 55, Sophia Kaiser, SFU, 23:54.6. 57, Nicole Soleim, CWU, 23:55.3. 65, Jane Barr, WWU, 24:01.5. 66, Sophia Galvez, WWU, 24:02.2. 70, Addy Townsend, SFU, 24:06.5. 85, Katherine Walter, SPU, 24:18.4. 109, Chelsea Ribeiro, SFU, 24:29.1. 120, Kate Lilly, SPU, 24:32.6. 136, Krystal Kaufman, SPU, 24:46.7. 140, Sophie Dodd, SFU, 24:49.9. 160, Shawnee Konrad, WWU, 25:10.8. 163, Tracy Melville, WWU, 25:12.7. 172, Rebecca Lehman, WWU, 25:21.7. 175, Ruth Cvancara, UAA, 25:26.0. 176, Dania Holmberg, SPU, 25:26.1. 183, Megan Roxby, SFU, 25:31.8. 184, Talia Dreicer, WWU, 25:32.2. 193, Peyton Shinnick, WWU, 25:38.1. 205, Sedona McNerney, SPU, 25:46.7. 214, Riley Burroughs, UAA, 26:01.4. 218, Elizabeth Thompson, SPU, 26:06.6. 219, Emily Chilton, SFU, 26:09.1. 234, Kimberly Coscia, UAA, 26:44.0.