Women finish third in region, qualify for nationals
George Jones
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Cross Country
The men's and women's cross country teams were in opposite positions entering the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships last Saturday. The women were ranked No. 13 in the nation, while the men did not even make the top ten ranking in the region. However, both finished the race with a chance to be selected for the national championship meet tomorrow, hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College and held at the Highland Park Golf Club in Cleveland. When the selections were announced the following Monday, the women's team had made it to nationals for the fourth straight time, while the men's team didn't make the cut.
The women's team finished third, with 130 points, behind No. 1 Calvin College and No. 22 Oberlin College. "Well, we knew we had three teams to beat, one being Calvin, the second being Depauw, who's been ranked ahead of us, and Oberlin," said coach Kathy Lanese.
Senior Elaine Simpson had the race's fourth-best time, giving her All-Region honors. "All season I have been trailing the number one Oberlin runner, Joanna [Johnson], by around 40 seconds," said Simpson. "I knew that there were three solid runners, including her, that were going to break from the pack at around the mile mark. I wanted to hold on to that group as long as possible, closing the gap between them and me."
Justine Jeroski finished 12th, and Natalia Cabrera finished 32nd, also giving them All-Region status.
"Justine was to get in Calvin's front pack and stay there as long as she could, and Natalia was to keep Justine a close distance to her," said Lanese.
"That was the strategy, but we just couldn't hold the strategy on Saturday. It was probably our worst race of the year, and we still made it out," added Lanese.
"I am really proud of our team. However, I still feel like we have not had the race that we know that we are capable of," said Simpson. "This weekend is going to be that race."
The men finished fifth, with 196 points, four points behind Mount Union College, which was ranked No. 4 in the region entering the race. The No. 15 team nationally, Calvin College, won with 73 points.
The women's team finished third, with 130 points, behind No. 1 Calvin College and No. 22 Oberlin College. "Well, we knew we had three teams to beat, one being Calvin, the second being Depauw, who's been ranked ahead of us, and Oberlin," said coach Kathy Lanese.
Senior Elaine Simpson had the race's fourth-best time, giving her All-Region honors. "All season I have been trailing the number one Oberlin runner, Joanna [Johnson], by around 40 seconds," said Simpson. "I knew that there were three solid runners, including her, that were going to break from the pack at around the mile mark. I wanted to hold on to that group as long as possible, closing the gap between them and me."
Justine Jeroski finished 12th, and Natalia Cabrera finished 32nd, also giving them All-Region status.
"Justine was to get in Calvin's front pack and stay there as long as she could, and Natalia was to keep Justine a close distance to her," said Lanese.
"That was the strategy, but we just couldn't hold the strategy on Saturday. It was probably our worst race of the year, and we still made it out," added Lanese.
"I am really proud of our team. However, I still feel like we have not had the race that we know that we are capable of," said Simpson. "This weekend is going to be that race."
The men finished fifth, with 196 points, four points behind Mount Union College, which was ranked No. 4 in the region entering the race. The No. 15 team nationally, Calvin College, won with 73 points.
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