News Release Date:
Saturday, November 21
WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Seniors Yasmeen Colis and Sara McCune led the Whitman College women's team to a 25th-place finish at the NCAA Division III National Cross Country Championships Saturday morning in Cleveland, Ohio.
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| Yasmeen Colis |
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| Sara McCune |
Colis finished the 6,000-meter course in 23:34.5, placing 97th among 279 finishers. McCune was 111th in 23:41.7.
Rounding out Whitman's top five (team score) were junior Kristen Ballinger (133rd, 23:52.2), senior Michela Corcorran (170th, 24:12.8) and senior Heather O'Moore (216th, 24:46.4).
Others running for Whitman were senior Emily Rodriguez (231st, 25:03.3) and first-year Missionary Emilie Gilbert (234rd, 25:07.3).
"This field of runners was very, very strong," Whitman coach Malcolm Dunn said.
"This was one of the tightest and deepest fields I've ever seen at a national championship event. It came down to a matter of just a few seconds for every place and every team point."
Colis ran a "very good and a very smart race" to pace the Missionaries, Dunn said. "Yasmeen got herself into a good position early in the race and then held onto that position over the second half of the course."
Both McCune and Ballinger also ran "good, solid races," Dunn added. "Kristen struggled a little on the hills during the second half of the course, but she did a good job holding onto her form."
Dunn gave his Missionary "race of the day" honors to Corcorran, who shook off ongoing flu symptoms to finish fourth among the Whitman runners.
"Michela was really sick with the flu on Thursday, our travel day, and again on Friday. We weren't sure she would be able to run today, but she had a great race considering how she was feeling. I'm tremendously proud of her."
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L-R: Michela Corcorran, Heather O'Moore, Emilie Gilbert |
O'Moore, who finished fifth for the Missionaries, had trouble getting into a good position early in the race, Dunn said. "That was partly because of the foot problem she's been dealing with, but Heather gutted it out and passed a number of runners on the final stretch."
Rodriguez and Gilbert "finished within a couple of seconds of one another and also ran well," Dunn said.
"This was a very emotional race for our team," he noted. "Our seniors in particular have worked so hard in recent years to get our whole team qualified for nationals. They were thrilled to be running and competing today, and when it was all over, they were just overwhelmed by it all."
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| Kristen Ballinger |
The Whitman women's team was ranked No. 25 going into Saturday's race. "We matched our national ranking, and I think we ran well to do that, especially given some of the health issues we've had," Dunn said.
By placing second a week earlier at the NCAA West Region meet, the Whitman women qualified as a team for the championships for the first time since Whitman completed its transition to the NCAA in the late 1990s.
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| Emily Rodriguez |
Several Whitman women had qualified as individuals for previous NCAA championship meets. By placing 96th on Saturday, Colis posted Whitman's third-best individual performance of the past decade.
Laura Matsen, who competed one season only as a senior in the fall of 2002, placed ninth at nationals that year, after winning the Northwest Conference and regional meets. Jennie Wood placed 72nd at the 2000 national championships.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire won Saturday's national championship with 171 place points for its top five. St. Lawrence (180) and Calvin (195) placed second and third, respectively.
In placing 25th with 513 points, Whitman finished just five points behind New York University and 13 points behind Oberlin.
"This was a very, very challenging championship course," Dunn said. "It was quite soft, even spongy in spots, and very muddy in other spots. It was a rolling course with a few big climbs and good descents. There was a lot of movement on the course."
Wendy Pavlus, a junior at St. Lawrence, took top individual honors on Saturday, placing first in 21:28.0. Bethel's Marie Borner (21:45.8) and Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Ayla Mitchell (21:46.3) placed second and third, respectively.
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CONTACT: Dave Holden
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