Women’s Cross Country Finishes Tied for Ninth at NCAA Regional

Nov. 11 – (WAYNESBURG, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon women’s cross country team finished in a tie for ninth out of 41 teams at the 2006 Division III Women's Cross Country Mideast Regional at the Greene County Airport in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania on Saturday, November 11. The Tartans and Muhlenberg tied with 349 points and Dickinson College took home the team title with 49 points.

Dickinson junior Caitlin Bradley was the individual champion, covering the muddy six kilometer course in 22:40. Freshman Hallie Espel (Golden Valley, Minn./Hopkins) led the way for the Tartans with a 22nd place finish in 24:27. Freshman Danielle Sedlack (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic) crossed the line in 38th place, finishing with a time of 25:00.

Senior Jerri Castillo (Mastic, N.Y./William Floyd) and sophomore Carolyn Clayton (Northampton, Mass.) were Carnegie Mellon’s third and fourth runners, respectively. Castillo (25:58) finished 74th overall and Clayton (26:13) was 82nd. Senior Stefani Penn (Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley) finished fifth on the team in 27:29, good for 148th place.

The Tartans ran the first part of the race conservatively and as a result were able to move up and pass runners throughout. Espel was named to the All-Mideast Regional Team thanks to her 22nd place finish. She was the fourth fastest freshman in the race as well.

This race concludes the season for Carnegie Mellon’s women cross country team, with no one qualifying for next week’s NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships. The team’s tie for ninth place is an improvement on their tenth place finish at last year’s regional and 22nd place finish two years ago.