Women's Cross Country | 11/10/2016 8:15:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's cross country team will send a strong group of talented runners to compete at the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Atlantic Region Championship, which will be hosted by Rowan University and take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11 at the West Campus in Sewell, NJ.
The top two team finishers in the 6,000-meter race qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships on Saturday, Nov. 19 at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, KY. Sixteen other at-large bids will be awarded from the nation's eight total regions. The top seven individual finishers from each region not on one of the team qualifiers will earn an invitation to the national championships.
Seven Tigers will compete on Saturday. RIT is coming off a third place finish in the Liberty League Championship on Oct. 29. The Tigers also recorded a fourth place finish at the Mike Woods Invitational on Oct. 1 and won the season-opening St. John Fisher Early Season Invitational on Sept. 2.
Senior
Emma Jones (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta) will look to qualify for her third straight NCAA Cross Country Championship appearance. This season, Jones has broken her own school record twice, including a time of 21:09.8 over this course on Oct. 15, earning an 11th place finish out of 384 runners. Jones also won the Mike Woods Invitational and Cardinal Early Season Invitational, while finishing third at the Liberty League Championship. Jones is RIT's first four-time All-Liberty League first team selection.
Sophomore
Becca Schwan (LeRoy, NY/LeRoy) has emerged as a top runner for RIT, having earned All-Liberty League second team honors with a 13th place finish on Oct. 29. Junior
Keira Higgins (Schenevus, NY/Milford) placed 16th at the Liberty League Championship and 19th at the Mike Woods Invite.
Jennifer Crossen (Bason, NY/Oakfield-Alabama),
Martine Bosch (Endwell, NY/Maine-Endwell), and
Nicole Mackey (South New Berlin, NY/Unadilla Valley) have served as valuable runners all season in scoring positions. Crossen recorded a strong 20th place finish at the Liberty League Championship, while Bosch was right behind in 23rd and broke 23 minutes at Rowan last month. Mackey placed 22nd at the Liberty League Championship.
Jeriann Beiter (Lima, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima) has provided strong depth for RIT all season and could join in the scoring positions for the Tigers on Saturday.
RIT competed at the Pre-Regional Meet at Rowan on Oct. 15, finishing 14th out of 45 teams.
The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history last season and will look to make their second straight trip with a top showing Saturday. Beiter, Higgins, and Jones competed for RIT in the 2015 NCAA Championship.
Runners competing for the Tigers:
Jeriann Beiter (Lima, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima)
Martine Bosch (Endwell, NY/Maine-Endwell)
Jennifer Crossen (Bason, NY/Oakfield-Alabama)
Keira Higgins (Schenevus, NY/Milford)
Emma Jones (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta)
Nicole Mackey (South New Berlin, NY/Unadilla Valley)
Becca Schwan (LeRoy, NY/LeRoy)
