The Hopkins men’s and women’s cross country teams qualified to race in the NCAA D-III Cross Country Championships this past Sunday afternoon. The Lady Jays secured a coveted spot in the championship by winning the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, while the men’s team placed third in the same tournament. The men’s win left them eligible to win an at-large bid — a bid granted to 16 of the top 32 teams in the championship.
The Lady Jays had four runners finish in the top 10 and five in the top 13 to help them on their way to securing their seventh Mideast Regional Championship in a row.
Junior Sophia Meehan had an exceptional individual showing, as she won the individual crown while breaking the course record in the process. Meehan ran the course in a time of 21:18, becoming the third Lady Jay in history to earn first place honors. Freshmen teammate Bridget Gottlieb finished 36 seconds behind Meehan, earning herself second place as well as the honor of being the only freshmen to place in the top 23. Senior Frances Loeb (fifth/ 22:06.6), sophomore Tess Meehan (seventh/ 22:13.2) and junior Caroline Powers (13th/ 22:26.3) rounded out the top thirteen to secure the title for the Lady Jays.
All five Lady Jays crossed the finish line and joined their teammates before any other team had two racers at the finish line. Graduate student Abby Flock (18th/ 22:32.3) and junior Hannah Oneda (19th/ 22:36.5) joined the ranks of the top 20 finishers, though their efforts did not contribute to the overall score.
All seven Lady Jays runners earned All-Region honors for their top 20 finishes, marking the second successive year that Hopkins has won the Mideast Regional Championship with all runners earning All-Region honors. With the win, beating out second-place Dickinson by 71 points, the Lady Jays earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship in dominating fashion.
The men’s cross country team had two players place in the top 10 and three in the top 20 to earn third place in the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships. The team finished with 119 points behind winners Carnegie Mellon (90) and second-place Widener (115). Sophomore Stefan Arnold was the Jays’ top finisher (ninth/ 25:20.2), a significant improvement from his 18th place finish last year, and good enough for a second consecutive All-Region honor.
Two more Blue Jays went on to win individual All-Region Honors: senior Austin Stecklair (10th/ 25:23.2) and junior Ryan Alvarez (22nd/ 25:47.8). Junior Schaffer Ochstein (38th/ 26:00.7) and freshman Tyler Wolfe (40th/ 26:03.7) helped Hopkins secure the third place finish. Wolfe, with his 40th place finish, was the second fastest of all the freshmen at the Mideast Regional Championship.
The third place finish opens the possibility of an at-large bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The top two teams from each of the eight regional championships earn automatic bids, while 16 more teams from the remaining pool are selected to compete at the NCAA Championships as well.
The Lady Jays are going in for their third consecutive NCAA D-III Championship victory, hoping to become the first team to accomplish the task since Cortland State (N.Y.) in 1992-95.
The team has maintained the top rank in the nation throughout the entire season, culminating with their first place finish in the Mideast Regional Championship.
The championships will be held on Nov. 22 at the Golf Center at King’s Island in Mason, Ohio. The event will be co-hosted by Wilmington College and the Warren County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. The men’s team will race at 11 a.m., followed by the women’s team at 12:30 p.m.
The men’s team looks to improve on its 11th place finish last year at the NCAA Championship and turn in its third straight top 20 finish.
The men will be competing against a strong field consisting of teams like Carnegie Mellon and Emory. The women will look to best a field including conference foe Dickinson.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.