Women's CC Places 11th At NCAA-II Nationals
Kenosha, Wis. - The Ferris State University women's cross country team ran to a 11th-place team finish while tying for the second-highest finish in school history during the 2009 NCAA Division II National Championships held on Saturday (Nov. 21) in Evansville, Ind.
The Bulldogs, who entered the championships ranked 14th in the latest United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II National Poll, tallied 314 points overall in the 24-team event. Adams State claimed the team title with 73 points followed by Grand Valley State (81) and Missouri Southern State (104) in the top three.
Ferris State finished one spot ahead of national host Southern Indiana, which had finished just ahead of the Bulldogs for runner-up honors in the regional meet prior to the national championships. A combined total of forty-eight men's and women's collegiate teams and nearly 400 runners from across the country gathered in Evansville for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on the USI Cross Country Course.
FSU previously had secured its national championships berth by running to a third-place team finish in the NCAA-II Midwest Regional Championships held Nov. 7 in Kenosha, Wis. The Bulldog women placed third in the regional for the second-straight campaign.
The Bulldogs were led at the national championships by junior standout Tina Muir, who took 12th place overall for the second-straight year in earning All-America honors for the second consecutive campaign. Muir completed the 6K course in a time of 21:11.0. A total of 184 women's runners took part in the national race with Seattle Pacific's Jessica Pixler winning the individual title for the third year in a row as she was timed in 20:22.6 on the day. Muir, who was this year's regional champion, had won all five of her races this season prior to the national championships.
FSU senior Megan Josey was FSU's next finisher in 83rd place (22:48.9) followed by junior Paige Onweller, who was 91st (22:54.6) in the field. Freshman Anna Rudd placed 98th (23:03.2), freshman Alyssa Osika came in 104th (23:06.9), freshman Shelby Janutol finished 139th (23:44.4) and junior Sarah Creed wound up 146th (23:50.5) at the national meet.
Last year, the Bulldog women's third-place regional finish catapulted the squad to a 17th-place team finish at the 2008 NCAA-II Championships (11/22/08) held at Cooper's Lake Campground in Slippery Rock, Pa. The back-to-back third place regional finishes under head coach Steve Picucci represent the program's best showings since an identical third-place finish at the 1990 NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championships and it marks the first time in school history the Bulldogs have qualified for the national championships two consecutive years.
This year also represents only the fourth time in history the Bulldog women's cross country team has qualified as a team for the national championships as last year's berth was the program's first appearance since 1987. Ferris claimed Great Lakes Regional crowns in both 1981 and 1987 to advance to the NCAA-II Championships where they placed eighth and 11th overall, respectively.
Muir also earned All-America honors at the national championships last season as the Bulldogs wrapped up one of their most successful seasons ever. She placed 12th overall in a field of 189 runners to become only the second All-American in Bulldog women's cross country history. Her showing at this year's national championships matched her performance of a year ago as FSU's highest finisher ever at the national championships.