Women's CC To Compete At NCAA-II Nationals

Kenosha, Wis. – The nationally-ranked Ferris State University women’s cross country team will take part in the NCAA Division II National Championships for the second-straight year on Saturday (Nov. 21) in Evansville, Ind.

The NCAA-II Championships will be hosted by the University of Southern Indiana on the USI Cross Country Course with the women's 6K event starting at 12 p.m. (CT). A combined total of forty-eight men's and women's collegiate teams and nearly 400 runners from across the country will gather in Evansville for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.

FSU, which is currently ranked 14th in the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II National Poll, secured a 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.

Ferris totaled 103 points in placing behind regional champion Grand Valley State (26 points) and runner-up Southern Indiana (76) at the regional championships. The Bulldogs finished six points ahead of fourth-place Hillsdale (109) as the top three teams advanced to the national championships.

In addition to finishing third overall, the Bulldog women also had the individual regional champion as junior standout Tina Muir clocked 21:33.2 in finishing nearly 11 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Mary Ballinger of Southern Indiana. The women’s field included 134 runners. Muir’s victory represented her fifth individual title in as many races this season.

FSU freshman Anna Rudd also placed in the top 15 overall in this year's regional championships as she was 13th (22:57.0) and claimed all-region accolades. Junior Paige Onweller took 20th place (23:20.7) followed by senior Megan Josey in 31st place (23:42.7) and freshman Alyssa Osika in 38th place (23:54.5). Freshman Shelby Janutol came in 41st (23:56.7) and junior Sarah Creed was 83rd (24:48.7) at the regional event.

Muir is expected to be among the top challengers in the women's field, which also features a two-time defending national champion in Seattle Pacific University’s Jessica Pixler, who is the favorite to capture the women's individual title again after winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and NCAA II West Regional titles. Pixler won last year’s title by nearly 30 seconds over the second-place finisher.

The women's team race includes nationally top-ranked Grand Valley State and second-ranked Missouri Southern State. GVSU won Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and the Midwest Region titles this season, while Missouri Southern State took home the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association and South Central Region crowns.

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 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 and FSU’s highest finisher ever at the national championships.

Earlier this year, the Bulldogs placed third overall behind Tampa and host Southern Indiana at the Division II Pre-National Invitational (Sept. 26) hosted by USI on this year's national championships course in Evansville. Muir was the women's individual winner in the 6K race as she clocked 21:48.22 to place ahead of the other 74 runners competing in the event and finished nearly 21 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher in USI's Ballinger.