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Johns Hopkins Women, North Central Men Capture 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country Team National Championships

Amy Regan of Stevens Institute,  Ian LaMere of University of Wisconsin-Platteville Capture Individual Titles

Louisville, Ky. – November 19, 2016 – The best-of-the-best teams and individuals took home the hardware today under blustery conditions and mid 40-degree temperatures at the NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park.

Johns Hopkins University women won their fourth team title in the past five years and perennial power North Central (IL) men captured the program’s 17th team championship. Amy Regan from Stevens Point set a course record in the 6,000-meter women’s race at 20:14.5, a repeat of her 2014 cross country championships and her sixth overall NCAA individual title in cross country and track and field. Ian LaMere from University of Wisconsin-Platteville won the men’s 8,000-meter race with a time of 23:40.4. LaMere also won the 2015 men’s individual cross country title and established a record time winning the 2016 NCAA DIII 10,000 meters in track and field.

Johns Hopkins won the women’s team competition with a score of 128 finishing ahead of runner-up Washington University with 202 and third place SUNY Geneseo with 214.  The Blue Jays were led to the team title by Tess Meehan who finished in 17th place, followed by teammates Felecia Koerner (20th place), Natalia LaSpada (21st place), Ellie Clawson (33rd place) and Caroline Smith (37th place).

North Central dominated the men’s field with a score of 60, finishing ahead of runner up SUNY Geneseo with 204 and third place University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with 209. The Cardinals were led to the team title by Zach Plank who finished in sixth place, followed by teammates Al Baldonado (10th place), Dhruvil Patel (13th place), Ethan Adlfinger (14th place) and Zach Hird (17th place).

In the women’s race, Audrey Miller from Loras University finished second at 20:31.3, with Maya Weigel from Pomona Pitzer College finishing third at 20:41.3 and Erin Herrman from Hope College finishing fourth at 20:51.1.

In the men’s race, Ernie Pitone from Widener University finished second at 24:09.0, with Tim Nichols from Tufts University finishing third at 24:09.7 and Isaac Garcia-Cassani from SUNY Geneseo finishing fourth at 24:18.0.

The 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships were co-hosted by Spalding University and the Louisville Sports Commission. All of today’s race results can be found here: http://results.deltatiming.com/xc/2016-ncaa-d3-xc-championships

Cross country events were first held at Sawyer State Park in the 1980s. The course was redesigned in 2003 and since that time, the park has hosted 16 NCAA and NAIA national championships, along with numerous NCAA and NAIA regionals, and Division I and Division II conference championships. For the past 17 years, the Louisville Sports Commission has staged the Louisville Sports Commission Cross Country Classic, annually one of the largest collegiate meets in the US. Every year in the fall, the course is the site of numerous high school, middle and elementary school cross country events.