November 21, 2009

Williams Women 8th at NCAA Championship

Jennifer Gossels '13 (back) & Bret Scofield '10

Cleveland, OH--The Ephs ran to an 8th-place finish at the Division III NCAA Championship, with two of the top 7 returning from injury to help the team match last week's 8th-place USTFCCCA ranking with 309 points. Wisconsin Eau Claire won th e meet with 171 points, followed by St. Lawrence (180).

Running on rolling 6k course at the Highland Hills Golf Course, the Williams women held their own among a field of 279 runners. The mild, 50-degree weather made for excellent spectating and comfortable racing conditions. The Ephs got off the start line conservatively, as they didn't know what to expect from the unusual split start--the field was split into two groups that joined at the 400-meter mark, making for a somewhat unpredictable start. In general, the challenging course made for unusually slow times across the board.

First-year Jennifer Gossels established her position early on, moving up throughout the race to finish first for the Ephs in 23:05.9, good for 49th overall (with individual qualifiers' results not included). Olga Kondratjeva '10 made her way through the pack after a steady-paced start to finish close behind Gossels in 23:11.4.

Elly Teitsworth '10, running in her fourth NCAA Championship, finished 3rd for Williams in 23:27.5. Lauren Goldstein-Kral '10 and Annie Dear '13 rounded out the Ephs' scoring in 23:47.6 and 23:56.4, respectively.

Meghan Shea '11 returned to competition this week, finishing 6th for the Ephs. Senior co-captain Bret Scofield joined Shea in returning after being forced to take time off due to a spike injury to the ankle at the NESCAC Championship race. Finishing 7th for the team, Scofield showed her resilience, finishing in 24:57 on the hilly course.

A crowd of approximately 45 team members made the trip as spectators to support the Ephs. The cheering squad brought plenty of Eph spirit, with the purple and gold Williams flag flying high. Senior co-captain Jane Manfred said, "The girls ran a really tough race, showing their perseverance on a challenging course. It was great to see so much support from team members, in addition to alumni and families."