Saturday, November 23
Terre Haute, IN
9:15 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Timothy Hughes
Women Cap Stellar Season with Eighth-Place Finish at NCAA Championships
11/23/2019 10:58:00 AM | Cross Country
It is the best national finish by an Air Force women's team at the Division I level.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The history-making cross country season continued for the Air Force women this morning (Nov. 23) in Terre Haute, Ind., as they finished eighth at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Highlighted by a pair of top-40 finishes from juniors Maria Mettler and Mahala Norris, the women accounted for the best NCAA finish by any Air Force women's team ever at the Division I level.
The Falcons' finish is also tied for the best overall DI cross country finish (men or women) since 1967.
Under cold and rainy conditions across the 6K course at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, Mettler paced Air Force with a 36th-place time of 20:43.1. Norris finished right behind Mettler at the finish line, as she clocked a time of 20:46.2 to finish 39th in the 254-runner race. The pair finished within one minute of the national champion and collected All-America medals from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association – marking the first time in program history that the women have earned multiple All-America accolades in the same Division I championship race.
Air Force saw two more runners place within the top 75 of the overall field, as senior Lindsey Blanks and sophomore Mikayla Gallagher finished 61st and 71st, respectively. Blanks, the only Air Force female to compete on multiple NCAA teams at the Division I level, recorded a time of 21:01.4 in her final cross country race, while Gallagher, an Indiana native who previously ran the championship course as a prep athlete, crossed the finish line soon after in a time of 21:05.0. Senior Teri Brady rounded out the Falcons' scoring lineup, as she posted a time of 21:31.4 to finish 138th overall.
The women, who entered the championship race with a program-best No. 12 national ranking, tallied 259 points to finish eighth in the 31-team field – bettering four higher-ranked squads, including one top-four team. Top-ranked Arkansas won the team title with 96 points, while third-ranked BYU (102 points) and second-ranked Stanford (123) swapped their national rankings to round out the top three. New Mexico, ranked seventh in the pre-championship poll, finished fourth with 168 points, while sixth-ranked NC State (190), fifth-ranked Michigan State (209) and 11th-ranked Wisconsin (235) went 5-6-7.
Sophomore Jenna Kill and senior Swathi Samuel also toed the line for the Falcons this morning, collecting top-200 finishes after finishing 146th (21:36.3) and 190th (21:59.0), respectively.
"Our girls ended the season racing the same way they have all fall – for the team and ahead of our ranking," head coach Ryan Cole said of his team. "The two things that enabled our results throughout the year were really the resiliency this group showed and the level of fun they've had pursuing being the best team they can be. The girls really care about each other and are extremely committed. It's awesome to see that effort and dedication rewarded."
The women's NCAA run capped an impressive 2019 campaign that included program-best finishes at the conference (second), regional (third) and national (eighth) championship meets.
The Falcons' finish is also tied for the best overall DI cross country finish (men or women) since 1967.
Under cold and rainy conditions across the 6K course at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, Mettler paced Air Force with a 36th-place time of 20:43.1. Norris finished right behind Mettler at the finish line, as she clocked a time of 20:46.2 to finish 39th in the 254-runner race. The pair finished within one minute of the national champion and collected All-America medals from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association – marking the first time in program history that the women have earned multiple All-America accolades in the same Division I championship race.
Air Force saw two more runners place within the top 75 of the overall field, as senior Lindsey Blanks and sophomore Mikayla Gallagher finished 61st and 71st, respectively. Blanks, the only Air Force female to compete on multiple NCAA teams at the Division I level, recorded a time of 21:01.4 in her final cross country race, while Gallagher, an Indiana native who previously ran the championship course as a prep athlete, crossed the finish line soon after in a time of 21:05.0. Senior Teri Brady rounded out the Falcons' scoring lineup, as she posted a time of 21:31.4 to finish 138th overall.
The women, who entered the championship race with a program-best No. 12 national ranking, tallied 259 points to finish eighth in the 31-team field – bettering four higher-ranked squads, including one top-four team. Top-ranked Arkansas won the team title with 96 points, while third-ranked BYU (102 points) and second-ranked Stanford (123) swapped their national rankings to round out the top three. New Mexico, ranked seventh in the pre-championship poll, finished fourth with 168 points, while sixth-ranked NC State (190), fifth-ranked Michigan State (209) and 11th-ranked Wisconsin (235) went 5-6-7.
Sophomore Jenna Kill and senior Swathi Samuel also toed the line for the Falcons this morning, collecting top-200 finishes after finishing 146th (21:36.3) and 190th (21:59.0), respectively.
"Our girls ended the season racing the same way they have all fall – for the team and ahead of our ranking," head coach Ryan Cole said of his team. "The two things that enabled our results throughout the year were really the resiliency this group showed and the level of fun they've had pursuing being the best team they can be. The girls really care about each other and are extremely committed. It's awesome to see that effort and dedication rewarded."
The women's NCAA run capped an impressive 2019 campaign that included program-best finishes at the conference (second), regional (third) and national (eighth) championship meets.
Players Mentioned
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