9 sites, November 15—All races were contested at 6K (3.73M).
The top 2 teams (and their members) in each Region qualified for the NCAA Championships at Indiana State on Saturday, November 23. In addition, 13 at-large teams have been added based on formula. First-4 finishers in each Region not on an advancing team will also qualify. ¶ = at-large advancer to Nationals. Class designations: *** = frosh; ** = soph; * = junior; all others are seniors.
West Women: Stanford & Ella Donaghu (Stanford)
Colfax, Washington—The West Regional, held at Colfax Golf Club near host Washington State, offered a rainy day and cool conditions (mid-40s) to a slew of warm-weather teams, but that didn’t keep the favored Stanford women from ringing up a 10-point win over Washington to qualify for the NCAAs for the 27th straight year. Stanford’s 1-2-5-12-19 totaled 29 points, while the Huskies put 5 in the top 15 for 39. Impressing in 3rd was Boise State at 86, well ahead of defending champ Oregon’s 145.
Led by junior Ella Donaghu in 19:50.8, the Cardinal timed their late-race push well, not moving past Washington until the 5K. Jessica Lawson took 2nd in 19:54.2. In 3rd was Washington’s Mel Smart in 19:58.1; the Aussie frosh led the pack for the first 4.2K. USF junior Aoibhe Richardson ran 20:00.5 for 4th, ahead of Stanford’s Jordan Oakes (20:04.8). Fiona O’Keeffe, who won the Pac-12 for Stanford, did not race, making Stanford’s low team score all the more impressive.
WEST REGIONAL WOMEN’S RESULTS
Teams
1. Stanford 39; 2. Washington 49; 3. ¶Boise State 86; 4. ¶Oregon 145; 5. Arizona 188; 6. Portland 245; 7. Oregon State 248; 8. UC Davis 266; 9. Washington State 272; 10. USF 291.
Individuals
1. *Ella Donaghu (Stan) 19:50.8; 2. *Jessica Lawson (Stan) 19:54.2; 3. ***Melany Smart (Wa) 19:58.1; 4. ¶*Aoibhe Richardson (USF) 20:00.5; 5. *Jordan Oakes (Stan) 20:04.8; 6. Katie Rainsberger (Wa) 20:05.7; 7. **Yukino Parle (Boise) 20:05.8; 8. ¶*Christina Rice (UCLA) 20:06.2; 9. ¶**Anna Pataki (Port) 20:07.3; 10. ¶Jenny Sandoval (SJSt) 20:09.8;
11. **Shona McCulloch (Wa) 20:12.6; 12. *Julia Heymach (Stan) 20:13.8; 13. **Taylor Chiotti (Or) 20:15.9; 14. *Allie Schadler (Wa) 20:16.3; 15. Lilli Burdon (Wa) 20:17.7; 16. **Maxine Paholek (Boise) 20:21.7; 17. **Olivia Johnson (Boise) 20:23.2; 18. *Jennie Baragar-Petrash (Az) 20:25.6; 19. ***Abi Archer (Stan) 20:26.2; 20. **Camila David-Smith (Wa) 20:26.2; 21. **Lara Hamilton (Boise) 20:32.6; 22. *Mina Anglero (Cal) 20:33.2; 23. Amanda Gehrich (Or) 20:33.6; 24. **Emma Jenkins (Port) 20:35.6; 25. Clare O’Brien (Boise) 20:35.7.
Mountain Women: BYU & Weini Kelati (New Mexico)
Salt Lake City, Utah—New Mexico junior Weini Kelati stamped herself as the biggest of favorites for Nationals after her stunning 57-second win over teammate Ednah Kurgat at the Mountain Regional at the Rose Park Golf Course. Temps hovered in the low 60s and a partly cloudy sky was the backdrop for the race. The 1400-odd meters of altitude didn’t bother the defending champion at all as she blistered the fastest 6K at any of the 9 Regionals sites, 18:58.7, a 15:49 clip for 5K. She passed through 3K in 9:17.0, 5K in 15:42.6. Kurgat, who placed 5th at last year’s Nationals, clocked 19:55.9.
BYU took the next two spots after the leading Lobos, Erica Birk 3rd in 19:57.7 and Courtney Wayment 4th in 20:03.5. Fifth went to Montana State’s redshirt frosh, Camila Noe (20:04.5).
The close team win went to BYU with 70 points over New Mexico’s 83. Air Force (107), Colorado (113) and Utah filled out the top 5. Said BYU associate coach Diljeet Taylor, “Our main goal going into this meet was to advance, so I’m proud of our effort. We ran a more controlled race, so to still walk away with a win while resting 2 of our top-5 runners shows incredible depth. I think we’re in a good spot going into the national meet.”
MOUNTAIN REGIONAL WOMEN’S RESULTS
(altitude c1400m)
Teams
1. BYU 70; 2. New Mexico 83; 3. ¶Air Force 107; 4. ¶Colorado 113; 5. ¶Utah 116; 6. ¶Northern Arizona 146; 7. Weber State 244; 8. Southern Utah 267; 9. Utah State 269; 10. Colorado State 281.
Individuals
1. *Weini Kelati (NM) 18:58.7; 2. Ednah Kurgat (NM) 19:55.9; 3. Erica Birk (BYU) 19:57.7; 4. Courtney Wayment (BYU) 20:03.5; 5. ¶***Camila Noe (MtSt) 20:04.5; 6. ¶*Alison Pray (SnUt) 20:06.0; 7. Olivia Hoj (BYU) 20:07.9; 8. *Maria Mettler (AF) 20:08.1; 9. Sage Hurta (Co) 20:09.4; 10. *Mahala Norris (AF) 20:09.5;
11. ¶Linda Cheruiyot (UTEP) 20:17.1; 12. *Poppy Tank (Ut) 20:19.4; 13. Sarah Feeny (Ut) 20:20.2; 14. ¶Lexie Thompson (Web) 20:22.5; 15. *Adva Cohen (NM) 20:24.3; 16. Winny Koech (UTEP) 20:25.1; 17. *Bella Williams (Ut) 20:27.1; 18. Mikayla Malaspina (NnAz) 20:27.8; 19. *Abby Lawrence (Web) 20:29.8; 20. *Rachel McArthur (Co) 20:35.4; 21. **Holly Bent (Co) 20:37.0; 22. *Sara Musselman (BYU) 20:37.2; 23. **Lily Tomasula-Martin (CoSt) 20:38.4; 24. **Taryn O’Neill (NnAz) 20:41.4; 25. *Hannah Nuttall (NM) 20:42.1.
South Central Women: Arkansas & Taylor Werner (Arkansas)
Fayetteville, Arkansas—The highly favored Arkansas women couldn’t have made their dominance of the South Central Regional race, held on their home course at Agri Park, any more clear. Placing 1-2-3-4-5, Lance Harter’s Razorback women scored a perfect 15 points for a ninth straight Regional win.
Said Harter, “Unexpectedly, we were able to have a perfect score, that’s something that doesn’t happen very often in our sport. Our top 4 have been running like that pretty much all season but Maddy Reed had a breakthrough performance and I think that gives us a reconfirmation that we’re on schedule and we’re ready to go, if we stay healthy, a week from now.”
Taylor Werner was credited with the win, but she and Kate Izzo both crossed in 20:30.3, with Carina Viljoen (20:30.6) and Devin Clark (20:30.7) barely behind. Reed was 5th in 20:47.8. All the top 5 are seniors.
Texas grabbed runner-up team honors with 63 points, led by Destiny Collins (8th, 20:56.9) and Kathryn Gillespie (9th, 20:58.8). Texas A&M (106), UT Rio Grande Valley (164) and Rice (180) rounded out the top 5.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL WOMEN’S RESULTS
Teams
1. Arkansas 15; 2. Texas 63; 3. Texas A&M 106; 4. UT Rio Grande Valley 164; 5. Rice 180; 6. Arkansas State 186; 7. Stephen F. Austin 237; 8. Houston 267; 9. Baylor 275; 10. UT Arlington 335.
Individuals
1. Taylor Werner (Ar) 20:30.3; 2. Katie Izzo (Ar) 20:30.3; 3. Carina Viljoen (Ar) 20:30.6; 4. Devin Clark (Ar) 20:30.7; 5. Maddy Reed (Ar) 20:47.8; 6. ¶***Grace Forbes (Rice) 20:48.9; 7. ¶Kelsie Warren (TxAM) 20:54.2; 8. Destiny Collins (Tx) 20:56.9; 9. Kathryn Gillespie (Tx) 20:58.8; 10. ¶**Arina Kleshchukova (NO) 21:00.2;
11. ¶Ashley Driscoll (TxAM) 21:01.0; 12. **Dorcas Koech (TxRGV) 21:16.4; 13. ***Quinn Owen (Ar) 21:20.7; 14. **Katy-Ann McDonald (LSU) 21:21.7; 15. *Claudine Blancaflor (Tx) 21:21.7; 16. ***Beth Ramos (Tx) 21:25.4; 17. *Valentina Campos (TxAM) 21:25.7; 18. *Madeline Vondra (Tx) 21:31.6; 19. *Briahna Gerlach (ACU) 21:37.2; 20. *Kelsey Ramirez (SFA) 21:38.0; 21. ***Darby Gauntt (Hous) 21:38.9; 22. Khayla Patel (Rice) 21:40.2; 23. *Pauline Meyer (ArSt) 21:40.9; 24. *Marissa Flournoy (Tx) 21:48.3; 25. ***Adoette Vaughan (Ar) 21:48.3.
Great Lakes Women: Michigan State & Alicia Monson (Wisconsin)
Madison, Wisconsin—Under sunny skies, with temperatures in the 30s, the Madison route cleaned up pretty well as the grounds crew spent several days clearing snow from the Zimmer Course.
That gave Michigan State the opportunity to show that its Big 10 win over Michigan and Wisconsin was no fluke. At the Great Lakes Regional, Walt Drenth’s Spartans finished 2-7-8-13-19 to score a dominating 49 points for the win. Grabbing the second auto spot was Michigan (74), putting 4 runners in the top 20. Wisconsin followed at 100, ahead of Ohio State (134) and Notre Dame (144). Said Drenth, “They’ve been dialed in all year, but one of the things I’ve been really proud of with this group—and you’ve seen this in the past from us—is every time we race, we seem to be a little bit better.”
That Wisconsin senior Alicia Monson (19:59.9) won on her home course came as no surprise. Michigan State’s Annie Fuller finished close behind at 20:01.1. Monson’s teammate Amy Davis was 3rd in 20:07.4, Michigan’s prize frosh Ericka VanderLende 4th in 20:08.1, and Notre Dame’s Anna Rohrer, the leader for the first 4K, 5th in 20:11.4.
GREAT LAKES REGION WOMEN’S RESULTS
Teams
1. Michigan State 49; 2. Michigan 74; 3. ¶Wisconsin 100; 4. ¶Ohio State 134; 5. ¶Notre Dame 144; 6. ¶Indiana 175; 7. Butler 234; 8. Purdue 280; 9. Eastern Michigan 283; 10. Xavier/Ohio 320.
Individuals
1. Alicia Monson (Wi) 19:59.9; 2. Annie Fuller (MiSt) 20:01.1; 3. Amy Davis (Wi) 20:07.4; 4. ***Ericka VanderLende (Mi) 20:08.1; 5. Anna Rohrer (NDm) 20:11.4; 6. **Bailey Hertenstein (In) 20:19.9; 7. **Jenna Magness (MiSt) 20:25.7; 8. Lynsie Gram (MiSt) 20:30.6; 9. *Abby Nichols (OhSt) 20:32.1; 10. ¶Natalie Cizmas (EnMi) 20:33.3;
11. ¶*Anna Kostarellis (Xav) 20:33.8; 12. ***Sarah Schmitt (In) 20:38.8; 13. Jeralyn Poe (MiSt) 20:44.8; 14. Anna West (Mi) 20:46.0; 15. *Kathryn House (Mi) 20:47.2; 16. **Jackie Gaughan (NDm) 20:49.5; 17. ¶*Emily Royston (But) 20:50.4; 18. *Micaela DeGenero (Mi) 20:51.0; 19. *Sarah Kettel (MiSt) 20:51.6; 20. ¶*Maggie Schneider (Oak) 20:52.9; 21. Lainey Studebaker (OhSt) 20:54.8; 22. Julia Rizk (OhSt) 20:55.4; 23. Emma Sloan (Mi) 20:56.1; 24. *Meg Swietlik (Milw) 20:57.6; 25. *Maddy Trevisan (Mi) 20:58.5.
Midwest Women: Illinois & Cailie Logue (Iowa State)
Stillwater, Oklahoma—Athletes at the Midwest Regional had it nice on the weather front, with sunny skies, faint winds and temperatures in the mid-50s. The new cross country course at Oklahoma State offered solid footing and plenty of speed.
Illinois, top-ranked by the coaches, was figured to battle with Oklahoma State. However, the Illini powered to a solid 108-point win, while the hosts struggled to finish 4th with 158. In between came a surprising Tulsa squad (123) and Minnesota (130). “Our women were great,” said Illini head Sarah Haveman. “This was a new position to be in to have to enter a meet as the favorites. We have thrived on being an ‘underdog’ and have been able to gain excitement and momentum by beating people that maybe we shouldn’t. But today we had to prove that we are more than that, and that we could come into a meet ranked first and hold our ground.”
Iowa State junior Cailie Logue ran impressively to a 9-second win over Oklahoma State’s Taylor Somers, 20:20.6–20:29.9. Winny Koskei of Wichita State took 3rd in 20:34.9, and Northern Illinois’ Ashley Tuft (20:36.2) edged Tulsa’s Caitlin Klopfer (20:37.4) for 4th.
MIDWEST REGIONAL WOMEN’S RESULTS
Teams
1. Illinois 108; 2. Tulsa 123; 3. ¶Minnesota 130; 4. Oklahoma State 159; 5. Missouri 172; 6. Iowa State 192; 7. Loyola/Chicago 237; 8. Wichita State 240; 9. Northern Illinois 277; 10. Iowa 283.
Individuals
1. ¶*Cailie Logue (IaSt) 20:20.6; 2. ¶*Taylor Somers (OkSt) 20:28.0; 3. ¶*Winny Koskei (Wich) 20:34.8; 4. ¶*Ashley Tutt (NnIl) 20:35.9; 5. *Caitlin Klopfer (Tuls) 20:37.4; 6. ¶**Molly Born (OkSt) 20:41.7; 7. *Kelby Anderson (NDSt) 20:43.2; 8. *Abby Ripperda (SD) 20:52.3; 9. **Anastasia Korzenowski (Mn) 20:56.3; 10. *Anna Donnay (SDSt) 20:57.0;
11. *Erika Freyhof (Nb) 20:58.1; 12. *Allison McGrath (Il) 20:58.5; 13. *Abby Kohut-Jackson (Mn) 21:03.7; 14. *Rebecca Craddock (Il) 21:04.4; 15. Abby Caldwell (IaSt) 21:05.2; 16. ***Leah Kralovetz (Ia) 21:08.4; 17. *Sarah Chapman (Mo) 21:10.3; 18. **Madison Marasco (Il) 21:12.8; 19. **Kathleen Simms (Loyola) 21:13.4; 20. Melissa Menghini (Mo) 21:15.2; 21. Jordyn Kleve (Mo) 21:16.4; 22. Kaytlyn Larson (OkSt) 21:16.5; 23. **Caroline Miller (Tuls) 21:17.2; 24. *Sarah Werking (Mn) 21:19.6; 25. **Emma Milburn (Il) 21:20.0.
Mid-Atlantic Women: Penn State & Lydia Olivere (Villanova)
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania—The sun shone over the Goodman Course with temperatures in the mid-40s. Penn State, No. 18 nationally, was able to win its fourth Mid-Atlantic title in 5 years, but first it had to overcome the strong challenge of Villanova.
In the end, it was the strong finish of Penn State’s No. 4, junior Allison Willingmyre, that made the difference. Villanova’s front end dominated with a 1-3-4 finish: soph Lydia Olivere (20:02.0), frosh Maggie Smith (3rd, 20:15.8) and senior Ann Campbell (4th, 20:21.3).
Penn State’s low sticks were runner-up Kathryn Munks (20:10.7), Danae Rivers (6th, 20:23.8) and Julia Paternain (9th, 20:31.6). The ‘Nova edge was crushed by Willingmyre’s 15th in 20:39.9, as the Wildcat No. 4 finished 32nd. That helped give Penn State the narrow win, 73-77. Georgetown earned 3rd with 91, just ahead of Princeton’s 93.
Said Penn State head John Gondak, “We had this date circled on our calendar to focus on. We were really focused on coming here and trying to be one of the top two teams to advance onto nationals. The ladies raced like champions today and held off a really tough Villanova team to pull out the victory.”
MID-ATLANTIC REGION WOMEN’S RESULTS
Teams
1. Penn State 73; 2. Villanova 77; 3. Georgetown 91; 4. Princeton 93; 5. West Virginia 122; 6. Penn 156; 7. Temple 246; 8. La Salle 267; 9. George Washington 276; 10. Delaware 299.
Individuals
1. **Lydia Olivere (Vill) 20:02.0; 2. Kathryn Munks (PennSt) 20:10.7; 3. ***Maggie Smith (Vill) 20:15.8; 4. Ann Campbell (Vill) 20:21.3; 5. ¶Madeline Perez (Gtn) 20:22.0; 6. *Danae Rivers (PennSt) 20:23.8; 7. ¶Suzanne Dannheim (GW) 20:24.6; 8. ¶*Melia Chittenden (Prin) 20:28.7; 9. **Julia Paternain (PennSt) 20:31.6; 10. **Sami Corman (Gtn) 20:34.0;
11. **Page Lester (Prin) 20:37.7; 12. *Hayley Jackson (WV) 20:38.1; 13. *Mackenzie Jones (De) 20:38.6; 14. Candace Jones (WV) 20:38.7; 15. *Alison Willingmyre (PennSt) 20:39.9; 16. Brit Lang (Md) 20:40.4; 17. **Ariana Gardizy (Penn) 20:40.6; 18. **Alyssa Aldridge (Gtn) 20:41.4; 19. **Gillian Wagner (Prin) 20:44.5; 20. **Olivia Janke (TowSt) 20:45.3; 21. Nia Akins (Penn) 20:45.6; 22. Millie Howard (Tem) 20:46.0; 23. **Baylee Jones (Gtn) 20:46.5; 24. Grace Moore (Tem) 20:46.7; 25. ***Ceili McCabe (WV) 20:47.0.
Northeast Women: Harvard & Hannah Reinhardt (Albany)
Buffalo, New York—Instead of a golf cart leading the way, competitors in the Northeast Regional had to follow a police car, as heavy snow on the planned Audubon Golf Crouse route forced officials to turn the event into a road race.
On a breezy day with temperatures in the mid-30s, Albany senior Hannah Reinhardt shocked with the win in 19:28.4. Last year she was only 23rd. The America East champion topped Harvard’s Anna Juul (19:31.3) and Brown’s Hannah Butler (19:33.4). Mia Nahom of Connecticut (19:33.7) crossed next, ahead of favored Eglė Morenaitė of Iona (19:34.2).
Neither Harvard nor Cornell were figured to be in the running for the automatic team qualifiers, but that’s not how the cookie crumbled. Harvard won convincingly with 92 points, ahead of Cornell’s 126. Boston College finished 3rd at 133, while the two top-ranked teams in the field were disappointed. Columbia (nationally No. 21) finished 4th at 160 and Syracuse (No. 29) got 5th with 203.
With the (unprecedented?) move to the roads, it is a matter for debate if that affected the outcome of the race. Another question is how many of the athletes even had appropriate racing flats for the hard surface?
NORTHEAST REGIONAL WOMEN’S RESULTS
Teams
1. Harvard 92; 2. Cornell 126; 3. ¶Boston College 133; 4.¶ Columbia 160; 5. Syracuse 203; 6. Yale 203; 7. Iona 233; 8. Dartmouth 263; 9. Connecticut 275; 10. Providence 276.
Individuals
1. ¶Hannah Reinhardt (Alb) 19:28.4; 2. *Anna Juul (Harv) 19:31.3; 3. ¶*Hannah Butler (Brown) 19:33.4; 4. ¶*Mia Nahom (Ct) 19:33.7; 5. ¶*Eglė Morenaitė (Iona) 19:34.2; 6. Katie Wasserman (Col) 19:36.2; 7. ¶*Lotte Black (RI) 19:36.6; 8. *Elisabeth Danis (NH) 19:41.1; 9. *Alexandra Hays (Col) 19:41.2; 10. Jordan Jacob (Syr) 19:42.9;
11. *Gemma Nuttall (Iona) 19:48.8; 12. Isabelle Kennedy (BC) 19:49.8; 13. *Amanda Vestri (Syr) 19:50.1; 14. *Gabrielle Orie (Corn) 19:52.2; 15. Abbey Wheeler (Prov) 19:55.6; 16. Taylor Knibb (Corn) 19:58.6; 17. *Lauren White (BC) 19:59.8; 18. Gillian Meeks (Harv) 20:00.4; 19. *Kayley DeLay (Yale) 20:07.5; 20. Lauren Sapone (Dart) 20:09.8; 21. Jane Miller (Yale) 20:12.3; 22. *Judy Pendergast (Harv) 20:12.7; 23. ***Lily Tuck (Prov) 20:12.7; 24. ***Isabell Sagar (Harv) 20:14.0; 25. **Anna Oeser (BC) 20:16.2.
Southeast Women: NC State & Elly Henes (NC State)
Earlysville, Virginia—Perfect conditions greeted the Southeast runners at Virginia’s Panorama Farms course, with winds calm and temps in the mid-40s as NC State took both the individual and team titles. Favored Elly Henes surprised no one by taking command in the last kilo to run to a 19:48.9 win ahead of Furman senior Gabrielle Jennings (19:55.0). Wofford senior Hannah Steelman, who led at 3K, placed 5th in 20:08.1.
Wolfpack coach Laurie Henes, Elly’s mother, saw her top-ranked squad easily capture its fourth Regional title in a row, as frosh Kelsey Chmiel followed senior teammate Henes with a 4th-place in 20:02.6 and junior Julia Zachgo took 6th (20:12.5) as part of a 48-point total. Furman (83) grabbed the other auto spot as expected, led by the 2-3 of Jennings and Savannah Carnahan (20:02.5). Virginia Tech (109) and Wake Forest (133) placed 3-4.
Said coach Henes, “The continued emergence of Kelsey and Julia as solid low sticks to back up Elly is very positive going into the Championships. Our depth was also encouraging as we put all 7 in the top 35. We hope to put a few more pieces back in as well for Terre Haute to solidify that depth.”
SOUTHEAST REGIONAL WOMEN’S RESULTS
Teams
1. NC State 48; 2. Furman 83; 3. Virginia Tech 116; 4. Wake Forest 133; 5. Duke 154; 6. North Carolina 162; 7. Virginia 250; 8. Kentucky 291; 9. Elon 317; 10. Clemson 326.
Individuals
1. Elly Henes (NCSt) 19:48.9; 2. Gabrielle Jennings (Furm) 19:55.0; 3. Savannah Carnahan (Furm) 20:02.5; 4. ***Kelsey Chmiel (NCSt) 20:02.6; 5. 7*Hannah Steelman (Woff) 20:08.1; 6. *Julia Zachgo (NCSt) 20:12.5; 7. ¶Sara Freix (VaT) 20:14.5; 8. ¶**Ivine Chemutai (Louisv) 20:18.8; 9. ¶*Paige Hofstad (NC) 20:20.8; 10. *Famke Heinst (HPt) 20:21.2;
11. *Michaela Reinhart (Duke) 20:28.8; 12. *Kristlin Gear (Furm) 20:29.1; 13. Kyra Lopez (VaT) 20:29.1; 14. Samantha Halvorsen (WF) 20:30.9; 15. Sarah Edwards (VaT) 20:35.8; 16. Emma Grace Hurley (Furm) 20:37.5; 17. *Logan Morris (Clem) 20:38.6; 18. **Sara Platek (Duke) 20:44.2; 19. ***Mariah Howlett (NCSt) 20:46.9; 20. **Savannah Shaw (NCSt) 20:48.2; 21. ***Violah Seromot (EnKy) 20:51.4; 22. *Elizabeth Brush (VaT) 20:53.3; 23. ***Madeline Rehm (WF) 20:54.9; 24. *Isabel Zimmermann (NCSt) 20:56.2; 25. **Gabby Karas (Va) 20:56.8.
South Women: Florida State & Joyce Kimeli (Auburn)
Tallahassee, Florida—Host Florida State once again ran away in the South, held again at Apalachee Regional Park in cool conditions (40s) with rain on the horizon.
The Seminoles topped SEC runners-up Mississippi 42-100 as each clinched a trip to nationals. The hosts put 5 in the top 15 with a spread of only 16.8 seconds, Tennessee (144) and Georgia Tech (154) took the next two spots. Middle Tennessee, expected by many to challenge for a qualifier, never was in the fight, finishing 11th. Said Seminole coach Kelly Phillips, “Any time you come in as a No. 1 seed, sometimes it doesn’t end the way you wanted it to, but they executed the plan and they ran pretty comfortably.”
Only 4th a year ago, Auburn junior Joyce Kimeli ran with Florida’s Jessica Pascoe for the first 2M before making her move. At 5K, the Kenyan steeplechase specialist (SEC runner-up last year) sported a 9-second advantage. She hit the line first in 19:59.5 as Pascoe finished in 20:14.2. Next came Georgia’s Jessica Drop (20:16.7), ahead of Florida State junior Maddie Skyring (20:21.8) and fast-finishing Samantha Drop of Georgia (20:23.2).
SOUTH REGIONAL WOMEN’S RESULTS
Teams
1. Florida State 42; 2. Mississippi 100; 3. Tennessee 144; 4. Georgia Tech 154; 5. Vanderbilt 166; 6. Alabama 167; 7. Georgia 178; 8. Florida 189; 9. Auburn 218; 10. Lipscomb 258.
Individuals
1. ¶*Joyce Kimeli (Aub) 19:59.5; 2. ¶Jessica Pascoe (Fl) 20:14.2; 3. ¶Jessica Drop (Ga) 20:16.7; 4. *Maudie Skyring (FlSt) 20:21.8; 5. ¶*Samantha Drop (Ga) 20:23.2; 6. **Elizabeth Funderburk (FlSt) 20:26.2; 7. *Addison Coggins (FlSt) 20:31.7; 8. *Lotte Meyberg (GaSt) 20:32.3; 9. **Mercy Chelangat (Al) 20:33.4; 10. *Anna Elkin (Ms) 20:34.1;
11. **Joice Jebor (MTn) 20:35.2; 12. *Jodie Judd (FlSt) 20:35.4; 13. **Sydney Seymour (Tn) 20:36.5; 14. Rebecca Buteau (Al) 20:36.9; 15. *Lauren Ryan (FlSt) 20:38.6; 16. Megan Murray (Tn) 20:41.3; 17. **Katie Thronson (Tn) 20:41.4; 18. *Nicole Fegans (GaT) 20:41.7; 19. **Mary Kathryn Knott (GaT) 20:42.4; 20. *Madeleine King (Ms) 20:42.4; 21. ***Allison Wilson (Al) 20:42.5; 22. ***Rebecca Clark (FlSt) 20:42.6; 23. **Lisa Vogelgesang (Ms) 20:42.8; 24. ***Ana Wallace (Vand) 20:45.6; 25. *Victoria Simmons (Ms) 20:46.3.
