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SLU women's cross country team wins third consecutive NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship

Posted 11/13/11

CANTON -- The St. Lawrence University women's cross country team, ranked 11th in the nation, won its third consecutive NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship Saturday on the Ronald C. Hoffman Cross …

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SLU women's cross country team wins third consecutive NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship

Posted

CANTON -- The St. Lawrence University women's cross country team, ranked 11th in the nation, won its third consecutive NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship Saturday on the Ronald C. Hoffman Cross Country course in Canton, NY.

The Saints join runner-up Geneseo State as the automatic qualifiers for the 2011 NCAA Championship race, which will be held next Saturday, November 19 in Winneconne, WI.

The Scarlet and Brown, which won with 77 points followed by the Blue Knights' 91 point total, were led by seniors Jenna Hulton and McKayla Nuffer, who each earned top-10 showings in the race.

"The ladies ran an outstanding race today and continued to accomplish our team goals," said St. Lawrence head women's cross country coach Mike Howard. "Jenna and McKayla showed great poise and leadership today and we're excited for the chance to compete next weekend."

Hulton's time of 22:08 was good for fourth place overall in the individual standings behind champion Stefanie Braun of Plattsburgh State (21:52) and Rowan's Jena Peacock and Vanessa Wright.

Nuffer's 10th place finish overall is her career best in the regional championship, as she propelled St. Lawrence to the team title with a time of 22:26. Junior Jackie Lemme, first-year student Megan Hulton and sophomore Amy Cymerman each earned All-Region honors while rounding out the team scoring. Lemme was 13th overall followed by Hulton in 15th position and Cymerman in 35th.

First-year student Anne Martino (44th) and sophomore Caroline Raue (46th) also represented St. Lawrence in the regional race on Saturday.

Plattsburgh State, Rowan and New York University are also eligible for at-large consideration into the NCAA Championship. Bids will be announced tomorrow. The top seven runners whose teams do not advance to the NCAA race will also be automatically qualified.

Clarkson University Senior Maureen Hill (Latham, NY) paced the Clarkson Women, finishing in 119th place, out of 256 runners, with a time of 24:45.7 over the 6,000-meter course at St. Lawrence. The Knights placed 27 out of 36 teams with 777 points.

Hill was closely followed by junior Rachel Bachman (Queensbury, NY) in 134th place with a time of 25:14.2.

Senior Audrey Keene (Hilton, NY) came in 165th in 25:53.0. A pair of underclassmen rounded out the scoring for Clarkson, with freshman Sarah Governale (Wading River, NY) placing 184th and sophomore Erin Corrigan (Remsen, NY) finishing in 192nd.

Stefanie Braun of Plattsburgh State won the women’s title with a time of 21:52.1. The host Saints won the team title with 77 points

The SUNY Potsdam women’s team placed 36th.

Senior Hollie Heimer (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) paced Potsdam’s women with a 5k time of 26:04. Freshman Rebecca Duckett (Tupper Lake, N.Y./Tupper Lake) and sophomore Sara Behuniak (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) followed with times of 30:28 and 32:38, respectively.

Senior Shannon Garvey (Massapequa, N.Y./Hawthorne Cedar Knolls) finished her career with a 32:53 run and sophomore Kinga Kanczura (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) registered a time of 35:08.