PEORIA, IL - The UW-Eau Claire women's cross country team will continue its fantastic season at nationals after finishing fourth out of 39 teams with 194 points in the NCAA Division III Midwest Regionals today at Detweiller Park.
Washington University was first with 76 points while UW-La Crosse took second at 99. UW-Stevens Point finished ahead of the Blugolds while having a 125 point day. UW-Oshkosh finished off the WIAC-heavy top five with a 213 total. Only these top five teams qualify for nationals next Saturday out of the Midwest Regional.
Molly Warner (So.-Mosinee) ran superbly as usual with a 22:01 race to claim 15th overall out of 260 runners. This is her best race this year, with her next closest was 22:24. She has finished first for the team in six of the seven events she has been in this season.
Korah Petrasko (Jr.-Appleton/East) finished 28th. She completed the race in 22:30, her fastest time of the year. This is the first time she has finished second for the team this fall.
At 22:51, Rachel Anderson (Sr.-St. Paul, MN/Harding) finished in 40th place. She was third for the team and has not finished below third for Eau Claire all year.
Fifty-third place Cassie Haak (Sr.-Shoreview, MN/Mounds View) came on strong in the regionals with her best time of the season. She had a 23:06 time.
Bridget Bocher (So.-Watertown) was the final Eau Claire runner to garner points. She finished 58th while having a 23:07 race. This is her personal best on the year.
Jane-Marie Ovanin (Sr.-Amherst) captured 76th place. Her time was 23:33.
Kasey Stanek (Sr.-La Crosse/Central) was the final Blugold runner as she crossed the finish line in 23:55 and in 94th place. It's her fastest race this year.
The winning time was 21:04 by La Crosse's Julia Rudd. She will compete at nationals with her team, as La Crosse was one of the top five teams. Only the top nine individuals whose team did not qualify for nationals will compete as individuals at nationals.
Otherwise for WIAC teams, UW-Platteville finished ninth with 265, UW-River Falls placed 10th with a 271 total, UW-Stout took 11th at 291, UW-Whitewater ended in 15th while having 468 points, and UW-Superior managed 846 points for 31st.
This team finished with a 121-15 record this season. The last team to go above 100 in the victory column was the 2000-01 squad with 113. The 121 total is actually second most in school history with the 1997-98 team having the most at 145. This is the fewest losses since 1985-86 when the team had six in the loss column. The 1997-98 team was the last team to go to nationals, where it took second.
The NCAA Division III Nationals are next Saturday in Delaware, OH. It begins at 11:00 a.m.
Regional Results
2005 NCAA Cross Country Championships Website
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