Steinbrunner earns All-America honors as No. 14 Women's Cross Country finishes 19th at NCAA III Championships
WINNECONNE, Wis. — Junior Alison Steinbrunner earned All-America honors with a record-setting performance as No. 14-ranked Ohio Northern finished 19th at the 2011 NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championships Saturday morning at the Lake Breeze Golf Course.
The Polar Bears set numerous school records at the meet, which was hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Northern set a single-season record with 133 victories this season against just 28 defeats and its 19th place finish was the higest ever by an ONU women's squad.
Steinbrunner finished ninth out of 277 runners overall, finishing the 6,000-meter course in 21:12.99, five seconds faster than her previous school record of 21:27 that she tied at last week's NCAA III Regionals.
The effort marks the second time that Steinbrunner has earned All-America honors with a top-35 finish, as she crossed the line in 21st place as a sophomore in 2010.
Junior Lydia Weaver was 129th in 22:30, senior Kelly Casanova was 150th in 22:37, freshman Shayla Siefker was 167th in 22:42, senior Mallory Bloom was 175th in 22:46, senior Ashley Baumer was 215th in 23:15 and senior Amanda Binkey was 250th in 23:44.
"We had a pretty good day," ONU head coach Jason Maus said. "We ran well. Our pack stayed together nicely and we had very good times. Alison ran extremely well and posted the highest individual finish in ONU history, so we are very happy for her. This was a great way for our seniors to end an outstanding season and wrap up their great careers."
The Polar Bears finished 19th of 32 schools with 453 points.
No. 2-ranked Washington (Mo.) won the team title with 70 points, No. 1-ranked Middlebury (Vt.) was second with 111 points, No. 3 Williams (Mass.) was third with 153 points and No. 4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) was fourth with 223 points.
Individually, Chiara Del Piccolo of Williams won the crown in 20:52.
Team Standings
1. #2 Washington (Mo.) 70, 2. #1 Middlebury (Vt.) 111, 3. #3 Williams (Mass.) 153, 4. #4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) 223, 5. #7 MIT 276, 6. #13 Wartburg (Iowa) 281, 7. #11 Plattsburgh State (NY) 328, t8. #5 Saint Lawrence (NY) 341, t8. #16 Carleton (Wis.) 341, 10. #19 Saint Olaf (Minn.) 368, 11. #12 Amherst (Mass.) 373, 12. #8 Geneseo State (NY) 380, 13. #6 Calvin (Mich.) 399, 14. #10 Johns Hopkins (Md.) 405, 15. #18 Oberlin 406, 16. #27 North Central (Ill.) 413, 17. #9 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 415, 18. #23 Nebraska Wesleyan 443, 19. #14 Ohio Northern 453, 20. #21 Tufts (Mass.) 497, 21. #15 Hope (Mich.) 506, 22. #26 Elizabethtown (Pa.) 512, 23. #31 Luther (Iowa) 515, 24. #22 Emory (Ga.) 516, 25. #17 Dickenson (Pa.) 528,. 26. #20 Rowan 558, 27. #24 Chicago (Ill.) 603, 28. #28 Haverford (Pa.) 637, 29. #29 Willamette (Ore.) 688, 30. #25 New York U. 734, 31. Centre (Ky.) 786, 32. #35 Rhodes (Tenn.) 790.
Top 5 Individuals
1. Chiara Del Piccolo (Williams) 20:52, 2. Christy Cazzola (Oshkosh) 20:57, 3. Annie Lydens (Pomona-Pitzer) 21:02, 4. Erica Jackey (WashU) 21:04, 5. Margo Cramer (Middlebury) 21:05.
Ohio Northern Individual Results
9. Alison Steinbrunner 21:12, 129. Lydia Weaver 22:30, 150. Kelly Casanova 22:37, 167. Shayla Siefker 22:42, 175 Mallory Bloom 22:46, 215. Ashley Baumer 23:15, 250. Amanda Binkey 23:44.