Complete Results
GRINNELL, Iowa – The St. Scholastica women’s cross country team placed 15th out of 26 teams today at the NCAA Division III Central Regional meet, hosted by Grinnell College and
Katelyn Meger (
Sr.-Webster, Minn./New Prague) finished ninth overall, which is good enough to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships next Saturday.
Meger finished ninth out of 183 runners with a time of 22:23 seconds. The top seven runners from non-qualifying teams automatically advance to Nationals. With Carleton College and Nebraska Wesleyan getting the automatic team qualifiers and having three runners from those teams finish ahead of Meger meant that she was the sixth individual to finish giving her the automatic individual qualifier.
Meger also finished ninth at last year’s regional, but ran 17 seconds faster this year. Her ninth-place finish also means that she makes U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region team for second straight year.
The 15th place team finish for the Saints is the highest in recent history at a NCAA Regional.
Jessie Lovering (
Jr.-Bemidji, Minn.) was the second-fastest Saint, finishing 46th overall with a time of 23:28 seconds.
Tara Connolly (
Sr.-River Falls, Wis.) was 97th overall, posting a time of 24:28 seconds.
Kristen Gronbeck (
Fr.-Battle Lake, Minn.) was 109th overall with a time of 24:47 seconds.
Melissa Kempenich (
So.-Little Falls, Minn.) finished 117th overall with a time of 25:03 seconds.
Jenna Stauffer (
Fr.-Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) was 124th overall, finishing in a time of 25:09 seconds and
Stacey Gustafson (
Fr.-Merrifield, Minn./Crosby-Ironton) was 130th overall with a time of 25:24 seconds.
Like previously mentioned, Carleton College and Nebraska Wesleyan were the top teams in the meet to earn the automatic qualifiers. Carleton won with 95 points and Nebraska Wesleyan was second with 99 points. Wartburg College, Central College, and St. Olaf College will receive at-large team considerations for the NCAA Division III Championships. An official announcement will be made tomorrow.
The NCAA Division III Championships will be hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College (Ohio) and the meet will take place at Highland Hills Golf Course next Saturday. The meet will begin at 11 a.m. eastern time.