After capturing the NJCAA Region IV championship two weeks prior, the Cyclone women's cross country team was ready to prove they belong among the best at the NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championship at Pole Green Park in Richmond, Virginia.
The weather was perfect as the Cyclones faced off against 26 other teams from around the country. They had just been nationally ranked (No. 20) following their region championship two weeks ago. In the end, they took 17th place out of 26 teams, quite a feat for a team that only ran as a fully healthy squad twice this season.
Natalia Wrobel crossed the line in 44th place in 20:32, Isabelle Vaccaro took 56th in 20:51, Jasmeene Guido took 117th in 22:30, Maria Thurman finished in 136th in 22:56 and Stephanie Tuscher took 192nd in 28:27.
"The women once again exceeded expectations. After winning the region title and getting their first national ranking, they one upped themselves by finishing this high on the national stage. They also achieved the goal we set in finishing the meet as the top region school," said Head Coach Dimitri Dimizas. "Natalia and Isabelle raced so well and were the top two region runners in the race. Natalia passed people every mile, and Isabelle caught almost 30 runners from mile one to the finish. Jasmeene continued her end-of-season improvement and caught five runners the last mile. Maria had a gritty race and kept ahead of the region runners to help achieve our goal. Stephanie persevered and ran such a tough race. She played her role well and kept ahead of the runners she needed to. I couldn't have asked for a better ending to the season with this team. I'm so proud of everything they accomplished. They did an awesome job!"
