SPORTS STORIES:
SPORTS INFORMATION—2008
WOMEN FINISH 16TH, MEN 29TH AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS...
CLEVELAND, OH (November 22, 2008) - The Case Western Reserve University women’s cross country team finished 16th (out of 31 teams) with 402 points and the men’s team placed 29th (out of 32 teams) with 688 points today at the 2008 NCAA Division III Championships in Hanover, Indiana.
The women’s team, making their third consecutive nationals appearance, had two individual runners earn All-America status. They entered the race ranked 10th in the nation, but top runner Kristen Bowhers (Rochester, NY) was not at full strength due to illness.
Sophomore Justine Jeroski (Murrysville, PA-pictured one page one) finished 28th overall (out of 279 runners) in a time of 21:35.40 (6k) and senior Britta Kumley (Solon, OH) placed 34th in a time of 21:41.76. It was both student-athletes first All-America honors. Sophomore Andrea Fischione (Export, PA) also had a nice race (124th in a time 22:39.17).
“I did a rundown of every team and looked at how many All-Americans there were,” Head Coach Kathy Lanese explained. “We were they only team that had two. I am really proud of our women – they worked really hard this season.”
On the men’s side, senior Dominic Smith (New Richmond, OH) finished 93rd overall (out of 278 runners) in a time of 25:35.18 (8k), junior Austin Schmidt (Lexington, OH) placed 176th in a time of 26:01.80 and senior Ryan Gjoraas (Plymouth, MN) finished 181st in a time of 26:04.97 to round out the Spartans top three.
“The race went out extremely fast and it was extremely physical,” continued Lanese. “But it did not affect them. They went into the race ranked 31st and came out 29th. I am really happy to be able to finish ahead of our ranking.”
Women's Results -- Men's Results
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