News Release Date:
Friday, October 10
WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Based on its strong showing at last Saturday's
Willamette Invitational, the Whitman College women's cross country team
has jumped back into the NCAA Div. III national rankings.
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Sara McCune
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Yasmeen Colis
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In rankings released earlier this week by the U.S. Track & Field
and Cross Country Coaches Association, Whitman is tied for the 27th
spot with Bethel University (St. Paul, Minn.). Whitman also jumped to
No. 2 in the West Region rankings, trailing only southern California's
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS).
"We're excited about the rankings," Whitman coach Malcolm Dunn said. "Who wouldn't be!"
"As
I said earlier (in the season), I think we have the ability to defend
those rankings," Dunn added. "If we stay healthy and continue to build
through the second half of
the season, we will be in the mix for the Northwest Conference and
regional
championship races. It's exciting to have so many quality teams in our
conference and region right now. It's even more exciting to be one of
those teams!"
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Michela Corcorran
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Kristen Ballinger
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Last Saturday in a 28-school field at the Willamette Invitational,
Whitman and CMS had the best performances among the NCAA Div. III
schools, tying for third place and finishing just ahead of two of
Whitman's NWC rivals, Willamette and Whitworth. Juniors Yasmeen Colis
and Sara McCune ran first and second for Whitman in that race, followed
in order by sophomore Kristen Ballinger, junior Michela Corcoran and
first-year runner Sarah Levy.
Whitman is off this weekend but then splits its women's and men's
teams into two groups to compete in two events on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Whitman's top 14 runners will head across country to compete in the
annual Running of the Cows event at Carleton College in Northfield,
Minn. Carleton, ranked No. 10 nationally in the latest poll, will be
hosting a handful of schools.
The remainder of the Whitman squads will compete next Saturday at the Bigfoot Open in Spokane, Wash.
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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
509 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu
