NCAA Women’s XC Championships

Colorado’s team wasn’t in evidence at the front in the early going, but were there when it counted. (MIKE SCOTT)

Verona, Wisconsin, November 17—When race day dawned to reveal a healthy dusting of snow, the 255 women who woke up to compete in the NCAA Cross Country Championship quickly realized that things had just gotten a little more challenging.

Notre Dame’s Anna Rohrer moved to the point of a tightly-bunched lead pack that split the first kilo in just under 3:00. As is her custom, Rohrer continued to press the pace, to grind away on her competitors. Boise State junior Allie Ostrander made her first frontline appearance and pulled up next to Rohrer as the leaders split the first mile under 5:00. On the next major downhill, New Mexico soph Weini Kelati freewheeled her way into the lead.

While unable to force a meaningful break from the others, the leading trio pressed on: Rohrer forcing the tempo, Ostrander staying relaxed and Kelati contemplating her next move. The Oregon senior duo of Jessica Hull and Weronika Pyzik lurked within striking distance. Up front, Rohrer continued to exhibit heady racing technique by running the tangents and allowing herself to race frequently on grassy side sections of the course while the others in the middle continued to slip on the snow or splash through the slush.

15 frontrunners remained when the 3K marker was passed in 9:42. Ostrander was in the lead as Rohrer’s telltale facial strain showed she knew her fast-pace tactic was proving ineffective. Indeed it was, the front group was soon joined at the halfway mark by the defending champion, New Mexico’s Ednah Kurgat, and Wisconsin junior Alicia Monson, winner of this season’s Nuttycombe gathering, Big 10 and Great Lakes Regional.

Soon after Rohrer’s desperate move shortly after 4K (13:12) failed to drop any of her 8 remaining opponents, Kelati downshifted and threw in a strong surge up a steep grade on the race’s final loop. In short order, she strung out the bunched pack and forged a clear separation that eventually grew to 20m. Stanford’s Elise Cranny and BYU’s Erica Birk set sail in pursuit, but to no avail as the diminutive Lobo continued her drive to the line. With less than 2K remaining, was the race over? No. Colorado senior Dani Jones, a front-pack runner who had hovered just off the lead group for most of the race quickly left Ostrander, raced past Birk, and set her sights on the leader.

As the race hit the homestretch, Jones summoned new energy when she saw Kelati cracking. As the two attacked the subtle but deceptively difficult final 300m uphill climb that led to the finish, Jones flew by the broken leader for the win in 19:42.8. Kelati (19:45.3) held on for 2nd with the hard-charging Hull (19:50.4) grabbing 3rd. Monson (19:55.2), Kurgat (19:55.8) and Ostrander (19:56.9) filled out the top 6.

Jones’s victory was the highlight of a total team victory for the Buffaloes: 65 points for a runaway as 6 of Mark Wetmore’s squad earned All-America honors. New Mexico (103), Oregon (160) and Michigan (213) rounded out the top 4 teams.

“I am definitely very pleased with the way it played out,” said Rohrer, who had thrown down the gauntlet and dared the field to run with her before dropping back to 10th. Kelati, whose valiant bid to steal the race fell short, was candid about her shortcomings: “Things were not like I expected. I think it was pretty good. I know that somebody can come to me or I can seize the day. I am glad I did my best.”

Although Colorado was rated No. 1 in the USTFCCCA coaches poll for two weeks in October, in the days just before the championship competition, neither Jones nor her team factored into the prevailing conversations about premeet favorites. No matter. The jubilant victor gladly paid tribute to the Buff team victory and the program’s ingrained traditions. “At the end of the day, we put in every single thing in our body, And no other team has done that,” explained the new champion. “So before we got on the line, I brought the team together and told them, ‘No one deserves this more than us. We’ve been so consistent and we’ve prepared so well. Let’s go out and do this thing and show everyone what we’re made of.’ And we did. We finally did it.”

NCAA WOMEN’S XC RESULTS

Verona, Wisconsin, November 17 (c30F, snowy course)—

Teams

(adjusted places)

1. Colorado 65 (1-8-14-20-22 [26-63])

2. New Mexico 103 (2-5-9-38-49 [60-102])

3. Oregon 160 (3-12-27-46-72 [77-85])

4. Michigan 213 (25-33-40-53-62 [73-79])

5. Stanford 232 (11-16-39-76-90 [184-211])

6. Boise State 288; 7. BYU 310; 8. Notre Dame 313; 9. Washington 321; 10. Wisconsin 325; 11. Michigan State 341; 12. Portland 344; 13. NC State 367; 14. Arkansas 398; 15. Iowa State 403; 16. Florida 455; 17. Indiana 455; 18. Columbia 468; 19. Oklahoma State 481; 20. Penn State 482; 21. Princeton 488; 22. Mississippi 509; 23. Furman 527; 24. Villanova 547; 25. Southern Utah 564; 26. Florida State 584; 27. Oregon State 600; 28. Georgia Tech 653; 29. Minnesota 673; 30. Dartmouth 751; 31. Texas 862.

Individuals (8K)

(† = not part of team scoring)

1. Dani Jones (Colorado) 19:42.8; 2. **Weini Kelati’ (New Mexico) 19:45.3; 3. Jessica Hull’ (Oregon) 19:50.4; 4. *Alicia Monson (Wisconsin) 19:55.2; 5. *Ednah Kurgat’ (New Mexico) 19:55.8; 6. *Allie Ostrander (Boise State) 19:56.9; 7. *Erica Birk (BYU) 19:58.1; 8. Makena Morley (Colorado) 20:00.1; 9. Charlotte Prouse’ (New Mexico) 20:02.1; 10. *Anna Rohrer (Notre Dame) 20:02.4;

11. Elise Cranny (Stanford) 20:02.8; 12. Weronika Pyzik’ (Oregon) 20:03.4; 13. Lauren LaRocco (Portland) 20:05.1; 14. †*Dorcas Wasike’ (Louisville) 20:08.2; 15. *Tabor Scholl (Colorado) 20:09.9; 16. *Elly Henes (NC State) 20:11.6; 17. *Fiona O’Keeffe (Stanford) 20:11.7; 18. †*Aubrey Roberts (Northwestern) 20:13.5; 19. *Katie Rainsberger (Washington) 20:15.2; 20. *Savannah Carnahan (Furman) 20:19.2;

21. *Annie Fuller (Michigan State) 20:20.4; 22. *Sage Hurta (Colorado) 20:20.4; 23. *Courtney Wayment (BYU) 20:20.6; 24. Tayler Tuttle (Colorado) 20:23.4; 25. Militsa Mircheva’ (Florida State) 20:26.3; 26. Taryn Rawlings (Portland) 20:27.4; 27. †Jaci Smith (Air Force) 20:27.7; 28. †**Eglė Morenaitė’ (Iona) 20:28.5; 29. ***Camille Davre (Michigan) 20:28.9; 30. Val Constien (Colorado) 20:31.3;

31. Carmela Cardama Baez’ (Oregon) 20:31.5; 32. *Jessica Pascoe (Florida) 20:31.7; 33. *Lilli Burdon (Washington) 20:31.8; 34. Anne Frisbie (Iowa State) 20:32.0; 35. †**Winny Koskei’ (Wichita State) 20:32.1; 36. Margaret Allen (Indiana) 20:32.8; 37. Jessica Harris (Notre Dame) 20:32.9; 38. Avery Evenson (Michigan) 20:33.1; 39. **Emily Venters (Boise State) 20:35.8; 40. Nicole Hutchinson’ (Villanova) 20:36.3;

41. ***Katrina Robinson’ (Arkansas) 20:37.6; 42. Juliana Mount (Oregon State) 20:39.3; 43. **Adva Cohen’ (New Mexico) 20:39.7; 44. **Jessica Lawson (Stanford) 20:40.4; 45. †Sharon Lokedi’ (Kansas) 20:40.8; 46. ***Anne Forsyth (Michigan) 20:41.7; 47. Angie Nickerson (Southern Utah) 20:42.0; 48. **Sinclaire Johnson (Oklahoma State) 20:43.1; 49. *Bethany Hasz (Minnesota) 20:43.5; 50. Libby Kokes (Columbia) 20:43.6;

51. *Emma Grace Hurley (Furman) 20:43.9; 52. *Isabelle Brauer’ (Oregon) 20:44.3; 53. **Cailie Logue (Iowa State) 20:44.4; 54. Nell Crosby (NC State) 20:44.6; 55. Emily Martin (New Mexico) 20:44.7; 56. †Lindsey Brewis (Loyola/Chicago) 20:44.9; 57. *Aoibhe Richardson (Portland) 20:45.0; 58. †Emma Rafuse (Purdue/Ft Wayne) 20:45.2; 59. †Andrea Masterson (Yale) 20:45.7; 60. †Shannon Malone (Syracuse) 20:46.1;

61. *Carina Viljoen’ (Arkansas) 20:46.3; 62. **Dominique Clairmonte (NC State) 20:46.6; 63. Hannah Meier (Michigan) 20:46.6; 64. ***Jacqueline Gaughan (Notre Dame) 20:47.8; 65. **Clio Ozanne-Jaques’ (Mississippi) 20:48.1; 66. Katherine Receveur (Indiana) 20:49.1; 67. *Amy Davis (Wisconsin) 20:49.9; 68. †Addi Zerrenner (Arizona) 20:51.5; 69. Emily Hamlin (Washington) 20:51.9; 70. Morgan Hull (Florida) 20:52.1;

71. *Hannah Nuttall’ (New Mexico) 20:53.0; 72. **Maggie Farrell (Michigan State) 20:53.7; 73. †*Winny Koech’ (UTEP) 20:55.7; 74. †Natalie Cizmas (Eastern Michigan) 20:56.0; 75. †Sydney Meyers (Eastern Michigan) 20:56.2; 76. †**Hannah Steelman (Wofford) 20:56.3; 77. †*Jessica Drop (Georgia) 20:56.4; 78. †***Haley Herberg (Oklahoma) 20:56.9; 79. Claire Borchers (Michigan) 20:57.1; 80. ***Holly Bent (Colorado) 20:57.2;

81. *Taylor Werner (Arkansas) 20:58.0; 82. †*Katie Izzo (Cal Poly/SLO) 20:58.1; 83. **India Johnson (Michigan State) 20:58.5; 84. Rachel DaDamio (Notre Dame) 20:58.7; 85. †*Athena Welsh (Toledo) 20:59.1; 86. *Olivia Hoj (BYU) 21:00.0; 87. **Danae Rivers (Penn State) 21:00.2; 88. *Jeralyn Poe (Michigan State) 21:01.2; 89. ***Maxine Paholek’ (Boise State) 21:01.3; 90. **Amanda Vestri (Iowa State) 21:01.4;

91. Susan Ejore’ (Oregon) 21:01.5; 92. *Anna West (Michigan) 21:01.6; 93. Allie Klimkiewicz (Princeton) 21:02.0; 94. **Alison Willingmyre (Penn State) 21:03.4; 95. †***Abigail Green (Virginia) 21:03.7; 96. **Julia Heymach (Stanford) 21:03.7; 97. Philippa Bowden (Oregon) 21:03.8; 98. ***Hana Herndon (Georgia Tech) 21:04.4; 99. ***Jessi Larson (Michigan) 21:04.8; 100. †**Lisa Tertsch (Harvard) 21:05.0;

101. **Alexandra Hays (Columbia) 21:05.1; 102. **Allie Schadler (Washington) 21:05.5; 103. †*Linda Cheruiyot’ (UTEP) 21:06.6; 104. Alexis Fuller (Boise State) 21:06.9; 105. *Megan Hasz (Minnesota) 21:07.5; 106. †**Joyce Kimeli’ (Auburn) 21:07.6; 107. **Alissa Niggemann (Wisconsin) 21:08.2; 108. *Amanda Gehrich (Oregon) 21:08.3; 109. †*Taylor Knibb (Cornell) 21:08.5; 110. Becca Howard (Portland) 21:08.6;

111. Kaylee Dodd’ (Oklahoma State) 21:08.8; 112. †*Miranda Daschian (Cal Poly/SLO) 21:09.5; 113. ***Page Lester (Princeton) 21:09.7; 114. Shaelyn Sorensen (Wisconsin) 21:11.0; 115. **Jordan Oakes (Stanford) 21:11.4; 116. ***Lucinda Crouch’ (Wisconsin) 21:12.2; 117. **Sophie Cantine (Princeton) 21:12.4; 118. Erin Gregoire (Columbia) 21:12.5; 119. **Rachel McArthur (Villanova) 21:13.9; 120. *Katie Wasserman (Columbia) 21:14.2;

121. Gracie Tostenson (Boise State) 21:14.6; 122. †*Sam Shields (Pitt) 21:15.6; 123. *Elisabeth Bergh’ (Florida) 21:16.3; 124. ***Sadie Sargent (BYU) 21:17.2; 125. ***Julia Paternain (Penn State) 21:17.4; 126. ***Haley Wolf (Oregon State) 21:18.7; 127. ***Bailey Hertenstein (Indiana) 21:19.1; 128. †**Purity Sanga’ (Tennessee Tech) 21:19.3; 129. **Sophie Eckel’ (New Mexico) 21:19.4; 130. *Georgia Fear (Dartmouth) 21:19.8;

131. **Maudie Skyring’ (Florida State) 21:20.5; 132. †*Madeline Villalba (Penn) 21:20.6; 133. †Cierra Simmons (Utah State) 21:21.7; 134. *Lexa Barrott (Indiana) 21:22.1; 135. †**Lourdes Vivas de Lorenzi (Rice) 21:22.3; 136. †**Erika Adler (UCLA) 21:22.5; 137. **Taylor Somers (Oklahoma State) 21:23.0; 138. †*Grace Mancini (La Salle) 21:23.2; 139. †*Megan Murray (Tennessee) 21:23.4; 140. ***Moria O’Shea (Penn State) 21:23.6;

141. *Gabrielle Jennings (Furman) 21:23.9; 142. ***Ylva Traxler (Mississippi) 21:24.7; 143. **Madeleine King (Mississippi) 21:24.7; 144. Grace Baker’ (Oklahoma State) 21:24.9; 145. ***Lisa Vogelgesang’ (Mississippi) 21:25.0; 146. ***Heather Holt (NC State) 21:25.3; 147. **Melia Chittenden (Princeton) 21:25.4; 148. Abby Caldwell (Iowa State) 21:25.8; 149. Sydney Brown (Arkansas) 21:26.1; 150. ***Aubrey Frentheway (BYU) 21:26.1;

151. **Nicole Fegans (Georgia Tech) 21:27.7; 152. ***Elizabeth Funderburk (Florida State) 21:27.8; 153. ***Gillian Wagner (Princeton) 21:28.1; 154. Caitlin McQuilkin-Bell (Florida) 21:28.4; 155. **Lexi Reed (Oregon State) 21:29.4; 156. **Victoria Simmons (Mississippi) 21:29.6; 157. **Alison Pray (Southern Utah) 21:31.7; 158. **Madison Fruchey (Southern Utah) 21:32.3; 159. *Maddy Kauffman (Southern Utah) 21:32.3; 160. ***Jenna Magness (Michigan State) 21:32.6;

161. *Clare O’Brien (Boise State) 21:32.7; 162. **Sara Musselman (BYU) 21:33.6; 163. *Amy Ruiz (Georgia Tech) 21:34.0; 164. *Maddy Reed (Arkansas) 21:34.1; 165. *Ann Campbell (Villanova) 21:34.1; 166. *Kathryn Munks (Penn State) 21:34.3; 167. **Anna Camp (BYU) 21:34.8; 168. **Ariane Ballner’ (Oklahoma State) 21:34.8; 169. ***Olivia O’Keeffe (Washington) 21:35.2; 170. **Anna Elkin (Mississippi) 21:35.9;

171. Alex Cruz (Texas) 21:36.1; 172. ***Nevada Mareno (NC State) 21:36.6; 173. Kelly Naumann (Iowa State) 21:37.4; 174. ***Taryn O’Neill (Villanova) 21:37.9; 175. *Kyra Lopez (Boise State) 21:38.5; 176. **Jodie Judd (Florida State) 21:38.5; 177. Madison Offstein (Princeton) 21:39.7; 178. ***Lydia Olivere (Villanova) 21:40.4; 179. **Isabel Zimmermann (NC State) 21:40.5; 180. *Lauren Sapone (Dartmouth) 21:40.8;

181. Sharlie Dimick (Southern Utah) 21:41.0; 182. ***Jordan Williams (Penn State) 21:41.6; 183. ***Imogen Barrett (Florida) 21:44.3; 184. †Svenja Ojstersek’ (SMU) 21:44.6; 185. Sydney Foreman (Notre Dame) 21:45.6; 186. ***Molly Born (Oklahoma State) 21:46.2; 187. *Destiny Collins (Texas) 21:46.7; 188. ***Shona McCulloch (Washington) 21:46.8; 189. Alie Fordyce (Princeton) 21:47.2; 190. *Abigail McLaughlin (Columbia) 21:47.3;

191. †Allyson Girard (Texas A&M)) 21:48.2; 192. *Mackenzie Weiler (Michigan State) 21:48.7; 193. **Serena Tripodi (Columbia) 21:49.8; 194. ***Mary Kathryn Knott (Georgia Tech) 21:50.0; 195. †*Hannah Miller’ (SMU) 21:50.1; 196. **Karly Ackley (Iowa State) 21:51.3; 197. **Audrey Lookner (Oregon State) 21:52.5; 198. Haley Harris (Indiana) 21:55.0; 199. ***Reilly Seibert (Villanova) 21:56.7; 200. Olivia Lantz (Dartmouth) 21:57.2;

201. Lillian Anderson (Dartmouth) 21:58.4; 202. **Madeline Vondra (Texas) 21:58.8; 203. *Micah Huckabee (Arkansas) 21:59.4; 204. Hailey Gollnick (Georgia Tech) 21:59.6; 205. **Maria Kogan (Columbia) 21:59.7; 206. Morgan Szekely (Oklahoma State) 22:00.0; 207. Virag Weiler (Portland) 22:01.0; 208. **Glendora Murphy (Dartmouth) 22:02.0; 209. *Riley Burr (Furman) 22:02.4; 210. **Jasmine Fehr (Portland) 22:02.5;

211. **Ellen Flood (Georgia Tech) 22:04.0; 212. Patty O’Brien (Minnesota) 22:04.7; 213. *Kelsey Harris (Indiana) 22:06.5; 214. ***Kelly Makin (Washington) 22:07.6; 215. **Abby Kohut-Jackson (Minnesota) 22:07.7; 216. **Brigette Takeuchi (Oregon State) 22:07.8; 217. **Larkin Chapman (Iowa State) 22:08.1; 218. *Julieta Navarrete-Lamas (Southern Utah) 22:08.5; 219. ***Reilly Caldwell (Furman) 22:08.6; 220. ***Rebecca Story (Stanford) 22:09.1;

221. **Claudia Magnussen (Notre Dame) 22:09.6; 222. †**Logan Morris (Clemson) 22:09.8; 223. **Hannah Stoffel (Indiana) 22:10.0; 224. ***Emma Kuntz (Furman) 22:14.5; 225. **Ella Ketchum (Dartmouth) 22:16.4; 226. *Morgan Porcaro (Southern Utah) 22:18.4; 227. †Emily Bracher (Maryland) 22:18.5; 228. **Annasophia Keller (Notre Dame) 22:19.9; 229. *Maddie McHugh (Mississippi) 22:20.7; 230. ***Anastasia Korzenowski (Minnesota) 22:21.2;

231. ***Savannah Shaw (NC State) 22:22.0; 232. ***Kristen Garcia (Wisconsin) 22:23.7; 233. **Jennifer Lima (Florida State) 22:25.1; 234. ***Jaycie Thomsen (Minnesota) 22:26.1; 235. Courtney Cox (Portland) 22:28.9; 236. *Megan Mooney (Florida State) 22:29.7; 237. **Kristlin Gear (Furman) 22:29.9; 238. Molly Eastman (Minnesota) 22:32.6; 239. *Abby Guidry (Texas) 22:33.6; 240. ***Mari Friedman (Oregon State) 22:39.3;

241. ***Grace Blair (Florida) 22:42.8; 242. Meghan Lloyd (Texas) 22:43.9; 243. Caroline Alcorta (Villanova) 22:46.2; 244. ***Grace Fetherstonhaugh (Oregon State) 22:48.9; 245. ***Gabrielle Wilkinson (Florida) 22:49.5; 246. **Rachel Werking (Wisconsin) 22:52.6; 247. ***Liz Galarza (Georgia Tech) 22:54.1; 248. Althea Hewitt (Florida State) 22:57.4; 249. Catherine Pagano (Stanford) 23:08.8; 250. Noemie Noullet (Penn State) 23:11.7;

251. *Olivia Thompson (Texas) 23:33.5; 252. Jordan Welborn (Texas) 23:41.1; 253. Grace Thompson (Dartmouth) 24:17.8;

… dnf—**Lauren Gregory (Arkansas), Erin McDonald (Michigan State). □

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