GRINNELL, Iowa – The Carleton College women’s cross country team had two runners in the top five, and the Knights won the Central Regional competition. The victory also secures a return trip for the team to next week’s NCAA Championships. This is the second consecutive season and 12th time in program history, the Knights have advanced to the national meet as a team. Sophomore Simone Childs-Walker (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) placed fourth, one spot in front of senior Laura Roach (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North).
“Every team faces challenges and little stuff along the year. I think we certainly had our share this season. They all stepped up and did it together,” said Carleton head coach Donna Ricks. “We worked through everything this season together, and when you do that, you trust your teammates. They did a good job focusing on the race when it came time to do that.”
The Knights, ranked No. 16 in the nation, finished with 95 points to edge Nebraska Wesleyan by four points.
Childs-Walker crossed the line in 21:50, five seconds in front of Roach. Taylor Ffitch (So./Portland, Ore./St. Mary’s Academy) was next to finish for Carleton, placing 17th, with Alison Smyth (So./Billings, Mont./Billings West) close behind at 22nd. Irene Koplinka-Loehr (Sr./Ithaca, N.Y.) completed the scoring for the Knights, placing 47th out of 183 runners in the field.
“We needed to have those top four that have been consistently running up front have good performances, and they did that again,” said Ricks. “This was by far Irene’s best performance of the season. She really stepped it up.”
Wartburg College was third with 128 points, while Central College, St. Olaf College, and the University of St. Thomas finished tied with 172 points.
“The team stayed mentally strong and focused through all the illness we’ve had. We really came together,” Ricks said. “Monday was the first time in quite a while that we had the regional team in place and able to practice together.”
As the Knights try to focus on the national meet, they must also give the necessary attention to the final week of classes for the fall term.
“It’s kind of funny. They step off the course, and right away they’re looking at the books, ‘Okay it’s homework time now.’ They definitely have things in perspective with their academics and athletics,” Ricks said.
The entire field for the 2009 NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Championships will be revealed at 2 p.m. CST on www.ncaa.com and the championships meet website.
The 2009 national meet will be run on Saturday, Nov. 21 at Highland Hills Golf Course in Berea, Ohio, hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College. The women’s race will begin at 11 a.m. ET, and the men’s race will begin at Noon ET.