Photo by: Justin Tafoya, NCAA Photos
Air Force Pair Earns All-Region Accolades
11/18/2019 4:54:00 PM | Cross Country
Maria Mettler and Mahala Norris placed within the top 10 of the Mountain Regional.
NEW ORLEANS – Two members of the Air Force women's cross country team earned All-Region honors today (Nov. 18), as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association officially recognized the 450 athletes (225 men, 225 women) from 139 different institutions that earned the award following top-25 performances at the nine different regional meets last Friday.
Juniors Maria Mettler and Mahala Norris both placed within the top 10 of the NCAA Mountain Regional last week in Salt Lake City, while pacing the women to a third-place finish in the team standings and an at-large bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Mettler clocked a career-best time of 20:08.1 – the second-fastest regional 6K for Air Force at the Division I level – to finish eighth in the 130-runner field, while Norris crossed the finish line in a personal-best time of 20:09.5 – the program's third-fastest regional mark – to finish 10th.
It is the second all-region award for Mettler and the first for Norris. Mettler, who first claimed all-region distinction after finishing 24th at last year's meet, is the fifth different member of the women's team to collect multiple all-region honors at the DI level, while Norris became the program's ninth different all-region selection.
The 2019 season comes to a close this Saturday (Nov. 23), when the women travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA Cross Country Championships at LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
Juniors Maria Mettler and Mahala Norris both placed within the top 10 of the NCAA Mountain Regional last week in Salt Lake City, while pacing the women to a third-place finish in the team standings and an at-large bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Mettler clocked a career-best time of 20:08.1 – the second-fastest regional 6K for Air Force at the Division I level – to finish eighth in the 130-runner field, while Norris crossed the finish line in a personal-best time of 20:09.5 – the program's third-fastest regional mark – to finish 10th.
It is the second all-region award for Mettler and the first for Norris. Mettler, who first claimed all-region distinction after finishing 24th at last year's meet, is the fifth different member of the women's team to collect multiple all-region honors at the DI level, while Norris became the program's ninth different all-region selection.
The 2019 season comes to a close this Saturday (Nov. 23), when the women travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA Cross Country Championships at LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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