Saturday, November 23, 2019

SACRAMENTO – Alaska Anchorage senior Emmah Chelimo earned her second All-American trophy while the GNAC landed three teams in the top-20 to lead the conference at the NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country Championships, held at the Arcade Creek Cross Country Course.

Chelimo was one of two athletes to break up a potential top-five sweep by Adams State in one of the most dominant performances in meet history. Chelimo placed fifth, covering the 6,000-meter course in a time of 20:18.3. The time on the dry and fast course was almost three minutes laster than her 23rd place time last year.

Adams State swept the top three places to claim the program’s 18th Division II title with a score of 23 points. Sophomore Stephanie Cotter won in a blistering time of 19:15.5. In addition to Chelimo, Mary senior Ida Narbuvoll broke up the top-five with her third-place finish in 20:12.1.

Alaska Anchorage placed two runners in the top-10 for the first time since 2016 en route to an eighth-place team finish and a score of 374 points. Junior Nancy Jeptoo finished 10th in a time of 20:30.2, bettering her 38th place finish from a year ago. This marks the 12th consecutive year that the Seawolves have placed in the top-10 at the national meet.

Seattle Pacific improved three places in the team competition from the year before, placing 12th with a score of 425 points. Junior Dania Holmberg earned her first All-American trophy as she placed 21st in a time of 20:48.8. Senior Kate Lilly added a top-100 finish for the Falcons, placing 51st in a time of 21:10.2.

Competing in its first national meet as a Division II program, Northwest Nazarene again relied on the pack to put together a solid 16th-place finish with a score of 484 points. The Nighthawks saw four of its runners cross the line within 15 seconds of each other and the scoring five within 32 seconds, led by freshman Julia LaMar’s 98th place finish in a time of 21:38.2. Senior Sierra Manzer placed 100th in 21:39.4.

Western Washington placed 17th with a score of 507 points, but was hampered in the team race when junior Jane Barr dropped out of the competition with under a kilometer to go. Sophomore Tovah Swartz-Ireland led the Vikings as she placed 86th in a time of 21:31.4.

The 12th-place finish for Seattle Pacific is the team’s best since placing fourth at the 2009 championships. The 17th-place effort for Western Washington is the team’s best since a sixth-place finish in 2015.

Western Oregon senior Grace Knapp led the GNAC’s individual qualifiers, crossing in 59th place in a time of 21:15.9. Simon Fraser junior Olivia Willett finished 94th in a time of 21:37.1 and did Western Washington senior Sophia Galvez, who placed 95th. Alaska Anchorage sophomore Joan Kipsanai rounded out the top-100 for the GNAC, placing 99th in 21:38.7.

Running in her first Division II Cross Country Championships, Alaska Anchorage senior Yvonne Jeschke was named the winner of the NCAA Elite 90 Award. The award recognizes the athlete competing at the championship finals site with the highest cumulative grade point average. Ties are broken by the number of credits completed. Jeschke finished 165th in a time of 22:19.7.

Jeschke is the third GNAC cross country student-athlete to win the Elite 90, joining Central Washington’s Alexa Shindruk and Western Oregon’s Tyler Jones, who were the women’s and men’s recipients in 2018.

NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Arcade Creek Cross Country Course, Sacramento, Calif.
Team Scores (6,000m): 1, Adams State 23, 2, Grand Valley St., 87. 3, Colorado Mines, 134. 4, Western Colorado, 192. 5, Mary, 233. 8, Alaska Anchorage, 374. 12, Seattle Pacific, 425. 16, Northwest Nazarene, 484. 17, Western Washington, 507.

Top 5 Finishers: 1, Stephanie Cotter, ASC, 19:15.5. 2, Eilish Flanagan, ASC, 19:39.3. 3, Roisin Flanagan, ASC, 19:39.3. 4, Ida Narbuvoll, MARY, 20:12.1. 5. Emmah Chelimo, UAA, 20:18.3.

All-Americans (Top-40): 10, Nancy Jeptoo, UAA, 20:30.2. 21, Dania Holmberg, SPU, 20:48.8.

Other GNAC Finishers: 51, Kate Lilly, SPU, 21:10.2. 59, Grace Knapp, WOU, 21:15.9. 86, Tovah Swartz-Ireland, WWU, 21:34.4. 94, Olivia Willett, SFU, 21:37.1. 95, Sophia Galvez, WWU, 21:37.1. 98, Julia LaMar, NNU, 21:38.2. 99, Joan Kipsanai, UAA, 21:38.7. 100, Sierra Manzer, NNU, 21:39.4. 104, Katherine Walter, SPU, 21:42.8. 112, Annalisa Hamilton, NNU, 21:48.7. 120, Bethany Danner, NNU, 21:53.5. 126, Tracy Melville, WWU, 21:55.0. 132, Aundrea Koger, WWU, 21:57.3. 148, Kalen Johnson, NNU, 22:10.8. 159, Sedona McNerney, SPU, 22:15.8. 160, Ruth Cvancara, UAA, 22:16.2. 163, Rebecca Lehman, WWU, 22:19.0. 165, Yvonne Jeschke, UAA, 22:19.7. 167, Elizabeth Thompson, SPU, 22:23.4. 185, Talia Dreicer, WWU, 22:36.6. 201, Kelsey Washenberger, SPU, 22:47.7. 215, Heidi Nisly, NNU, 23:02.8. 254, Alfin Nyamasyo, UAA, 24:07.0. 260, Maria Aceves Espinoza, UAA, 26:12.6.