Westmont women’s cross country team finished eighth out of 38 teams at the NAIA National Championship in Lawrence, Kansas. The Warriors scored 316 points and moved up three places from their number 11 ranking.
“It was a nice day with good weather for Kansas,” said Westmont head coach Russell Smelley. “The race temperature was 47 degrees.”
Sophomore Kelli Collins finished 21st in the field of 336 to earn All-American honors. Collins completed the 5,000 meter race in a time of 18:28.
“Kelli was in a pack but just kept moving and never panicked,” reported Smelley. “About 800 meters from the mile to about 600 meters after the mile, she moved from about 45th into the top 25.”
Jessica Meyers finished in 57th place with a time of 19:03 while Corinne Cherne placed 92nd in a time of 19:20.
“Jessica was just getting back from being sick,” noted Smelley. “Corinne had a great start but got a stitch in her side and faded from 15th to about 90th.”
Olivia Wood and Emily Williams completed the scoring for the Warriors taking 112th and 114th respective – both in a time of 19:30.
Also competing for the Warriors was Heidi Nicholls who placed 162nd in a time of 19:50 and Hailey Alexander who was 247 in a time of 20:34.
The race was won by top-ranked and heavily favored British Columbia who tallied just 43 points. Lewis-Clark State was second with 141 points.
Westmont was the top finisher among schools from the Golden State Athletic Conference. The Master’s finished 13th while Biola took 21st place.
