Athenas Win West Region Meet, Qualify For NCAA Championships

CMS won the NCAA West Region cross country meet on Saturday morning and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the 11th time. The Athenas, ranked second in the region prior to the meet, edged conference rival Pomona-Pitzer 88-89 to win the meet for a record-equaling sixth time.

The SCIAC Champion Athenas were once again led by Evelyn Ross (SR, Iowa City, IA) who finished seventh overall with a personal best time of 22:10.7 for the six kilometer race.  Julia Rigby (FY, Tustin) was the top number two runner of any of the 20 teams competing.  She finished ninth overall in 22:21.9.  Katie Harris (SR, Bremerton, WA) had another outstanding race and finished 12th in 22:26.4.  Rachael Martin (SR, Pasadena) had the team's top performance.  She improved 48 places over her 2007 finish in 27th place with a 67-second personal best of 23:08.5.  Ally Rueschenberg (JR, Avila Beach) finished 33rd in 23:25.3 and Lacey McLean (FR, Gig Harbor, WA) finished in the same time in 34th.  All six runners ran personal bests and earned All-Region honors by finishing in the top 35.  Despite being hampered by a cold, Ashley Scott (SO, Battle Creek, MI) was the third-best seventh runner in the meet.

The Athenas now advance to the NCAA Division III Championships.  The meet will be hosted by Hanover College in Hanover, IN this Saturday at 12:00.  CMS will be one of 32 teams competing in the meet with a total of 280 athletes running.  CMS moved up to 20th in the final national rankings after being ranked 27th prior to the regional.

Complete meet results can be found here: 2008 West Regional