Wolverines Finish 22nd at NCAA Championships

Wolverines Finish 22nd at NCAA Championships

Site: Stillwater, Okla. (Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course)

Event: NCAA Championships

Distance: 6 Kilometers (3.73 Miles)

U-M Team Finish: 22nd of 31 teams (534 points)

Top U-M Individual: Ericka VanderLende, 76th (20:28.0)

Next U-M Event: Season Completed

STILLWATER, Okla. — The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan women’s cross country team ran hard and together as a team and finished 22nd at the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday (Nov. 19) at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course.

The Wolverines entered the race ranked 19th and finished 22nd on a tough course. From the 2K mark forward, the Wolverines were in 22nd or within one place but were unable to make up significant ground on the teams ahead of them to place higher.

Senior Ericka VanderLende finished in 76th place, taking the top spot for Michigan with a time of 20:28. She was in 115th after 2K and was able to make up ground over the next kilometer, passing 42 other runners. Over the course of the final 2K, she held her own finishing in the top 80.

The next Wolverine across the finish line was senior Sam Tran, who gained on the competition throughout the race — her typical race strategy. After the first kilometer, Tran was in 141st place and gained 41 spots to finish 100th overall with a time of 20:37.3.

The third and fourth racers for the Maize and Blue both set new career best times. Senior Samantha Saenz finsihed 141st in 20:52, eclipsing by 2.5 seconds her previous best set at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational earlier this season. Graduate student Danielle Page broke the 21-minute mark for the first time (20:56.6), finishing 152nd overall.

The final counting finisher for the Wolverines was sophomore Samantha Hastie, who finished 179th (21:09.5) running in her first NCAA Cross Country Championship race.

At the two-kilometer checkpoint, the top 100 were separated by 10 seconds, with the gap widening to 36 seconds after 4K. At the finish line, the top 45 were separated by 1:10.

With the cross country season now complete, the Wolverine distance runners will join their sprint, jump and throw teammates in turning their attention toward the indoor track and field season that will…