Champions at last: XC earns first Hopkins women’s national title

The Hopkins women’s cross country team made history on November 17 at the Division III NCAA National Championships in Terra Haute, Indiana. The team totaled an astounding 158 points to capture its first NCAA Division III Cross Country Title at the LaVerne Gibson Championship Course. They defeated the runner-up school, Wartburg, by 63 points, the greatest margin of victory in a women’s Division III championship race since 2002. The title is the first women’s national championship in not only cross country, but also in any women's sport in Hopkins history. And as if all of these incredible accomplishments weren’t enough to satisfy any championship team, three Blue Jay runners finished in the top-35 to achieve the status of All-American. Freshman Hannah Oneda led the Blue Jays down the stretch and finished in 10th place, while junior Holly Clarke and senior Annie Monagle finished 25th and 32nd respectively.

The win was an extremely decisive and dominating victory for the Blue Jays as they were able to find success on the LaVerne Gibson Course, where they had placed first in mid-October at the Pre-National Invitational. The Jays were able to quickly accelerate to the front of the pack in the beginning segments of the race. Oneda, Clarke and Monagle were successful in maintaining a good pace to stay near the front of the pack while the other four Hopkins runners, sophomore Ashley Murphy, freshman Sophia Meehan, junior Lara Shegoski and sophomore Frances Loeb all performed admirably in the top-50 for the first mile of the race.

As the course continued on into the second mile and towards the midpoint of the course, Oneda and Clarke maintained their position and continued to fight for the top positions with the rest of the leaders, followed closely by Monagle. It was at this point in the race where their previous experience with the course really played to the advantage of Hopkins, as the girls were able to endure the winding trail and steep hills in the middle and closing stretch of the course. “That last stretch was definitely the hardest, but we knew that we had to kick it into high gear and outlast fellow runners,” Clarke said about the hardest part of the race.

As the race came to a close, Oneda stormed her way into the top 10 during the final half mile of the race to secure a 10th place finish with an impressive time of 21:26. 15 places and only 22 seconds later, Clarke charged through the finish line to secure her second All-American title in consecutive years with a time of 21:48. Clarke made individual history with the achievement, becoming the first two-time All-American in the history of the program. “I’m so proud to have achieved All-American status two years in a row,” Clarke said. “It is my motivation every day, knowing what I’m capable of and that I can only improve from here. It’s an amazing feeling to be individually recognized and I hope that next year we can have all seven girls be All-American at Nationals.”

For Monagle, earning an All-American nod was the culmination of four years of hard work through adversity. "I've had a tumultuous running career full of frustrating injuries but I've never allowed myself to give up on running. I simply love it too much. Achieving All-American status to me means that I can achieve a goal if I stay focused and positive, no matter what obstacle (injury) might present itself."

With the two top Hopkins runners across the finish line, Monagle stormed past nine runners to conclude her race in astonishing fashion as she locked up 32nd with a time of 21:56, 49 seconds faster than her race during Pre-Nationals. In fact, Monagle wasn’t the only one who improved on her Pre-National time. Each Hopkins runner improved from the Pre-National race by improving their mile-splits on the course.

It would take more than just Hopkins's top three runners to secure the victory in the race as Meehan led a dynamic trio of Hopkins runners to finish fourth on the team with a time of 22:37, while Murphy and Shegoski came in with times of 22:38 and 22:39 respectively. It was these three finishers that secured the National Title win for Hopkins while Loeb topped off an excellent day for the team with a very respectable time of 23:13. “The national title means much more than just a team title,” Clarke said following the victory. “We went to Nationals representing Hopkins as athletes and as students. It means so much more knowing that all the hard work paid we put into school as well as the hours of practice and training per week paid off. We put it all on the line for each other worked harder than we ever had before.”

Monagle echoed Clarke's sentiment, saying "In cross country, you can't win a title off the talent of a few individuals. You win because you as a team are out there fighting for each of your teammates. And in our case, we have 44 teammates who have contributed to this dedicated and hardworking collective attitude which I believe propelled us to the top of the nation."

Securing the National Title marked the end of a very successful, well-deserved, and admirable season for the Hopkins women’s cross country team. And it’ll be one that most will never forget. “We definitely had both some highlights as well as obstacles along the way,” Clarke reflected on the season as a whole. “Our biggest obstacles came at Regionals in Carlisle, Pa. where we finished 1st overall and Hannah finished 1st individually. However, many of us raced poorly and were not satisfied with how we performed. It definitely prepared us to fight more at Nationals.” However, Clarke signified that the loss of Rebecca Grande, a talented and gifted member of the team, was the most difficult and saddening part of the season. “She was an amazing and influential teammate and her tragic death shocked our team. She brought us closer together and gave us a reason to fight while making us realize why we run and whom we run for. She motivated us into digging deeper every day into our training routines. She gave us a big reason and tremendous motivation to win at Nationals.”

Despite all of the obstacles faced and the hardships that the team has tried to endure, they came out this past weekend proud and victorious with the first women’s national title for Hopkins. “This team has grown and bonded like a family,” said Clarke. “I’ve never experienced such a close-knit family as ours until this season and I think it was a huge part of our success. And this family does not just refer to the seven of us racing at Nationals; it refers to every single girl who worked extremely hard to push each other and make this team the best it could be.”