The Tritons edged their way through the mob in a cutthroat race on Nov. 18, but the women’s cross country NCAA Division II National Championship ended before they could catch their breath, taking 16th place out of 22 teams.
The UCSD women’s cross country team finished 16th out of 22 teams at the NCAA Division II National Championship on Nov. 18, a significant drop from the Tritons’ seventh-place finish last season. Junior captain Diane Dunn led the Tritons, finishing 38th out of 187 runners.
This was the Tritons’ fifth consecutive year in the national championships. Last year, UCSD put together its most impressive season in Division II with seventh-place finish in the championships.
This year, UCSD, which finished third in the West regional behind Cal State Los Angeles and Seattle Pacific University, was ranked 10th nationally entering Saturday’s competition.
Adams State College of Alamosa, Colo. set the tempo for the championships, taking the top prize for the fourth straight year. The Grizzlies’ score of 94 was the highest team score in the 25-year history of the championships.
In contrast, the Tritons finished with 369 points, three behind Florida Southern University and just two points ahead of Stonehill College of Massachusetts.
The race was one of the closest championships in recent memory, with the Grizzlies edging Colorado’s Western State College by a seven-point margin, 94-101.
The Cross Country Coaches Association national rankings did not favor Adams State to repeat as champions after losing earlier this month to Western State College. However, there was little doubt that Adams State would remain a formidable competitor.
“They’re always in the hunt,”” Triton head coach Ted Van Arsdale said. “You can never count them out.””
Adams State had three runners in the top 20, narrowly outrunning rival Western State College for its 12th overall NCAA Division II national title.
Junior team captain Diane Dunn was the first Triton runner to finish, crossing the line with a time of 21 minutes, 34.7 seconds for 38th overall — an improvement from finishing 94th in the national championships last season.
Throughout the season, Dunn has been finishing first for the Tritons and improving her times in most of the team’s meets.
“We’re really proud how everyone raced today,”” Dunn said. “That was a good finish for us.””
Senior Nina Miller finished 59th with a time of 22:00.40 to end her collegiate cross country career.
Junior Amanda Burkhardt and sophomores Ashleigh Montgomery and Catherine Strouse rounded out the top five finishers for the Tritons with 62nd- 84th- and 126th- place overall finishes, respectively.
The Tritons’ 16th-place finish ties the 2002 squad for UCSD’s second-best performance in the Division II championships.
According to Van Arsdale, the rest of the field simply outran the Tritons.
“It was a disappointing 16th,”” Van Arsdale said. “The gals ran really well. The other teams just ran better today.””
West Region foes Seattle Pacific University and Chico State finished in the top 10, while Cal State Los Angeles placed third overall.
Next season’s team will only lose Miller, and it will return more runers from the championships than ever before.
According to Dunn, this year’s campaign was a work in progress.
“Having six players return will be really great for next season,”” she said.
