Rachel Jones Leads the Women to 16th Place Finish as Wilmington Cross Country Competes at NCAA DII East Regional Championships

Copyright 2017; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. Photo by Frank Stallworth. October 22 at CACC Championships at White Clay Creek State Park.
Copyright 2017; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. Photo by Frank Stallworth. October 22 at CACC Championships at White Clay Creek State Park.

AMHERST, N.Y. - - The Wilmington University cross country teams completed its 2017 season at the NCAA Division II East Regional Championships on Saturday, with the women finishing 16th overall at the Audubon Golf Course, hosted by Daemen College.

The women finished 16th out of 25 teams at the Regionals, led by senior Rachel Jones' 37th place finish. Gabrielle Brown was the only other Wildcat to finish in the top 100 with a 52nd place finish. Running as an individual, the men's Mark Corrigan finishing in 36th overall.

Running in their second 6K meet of the year, Jones topped her previous 6K time by nearly two minutes, finishing the Regional in 24:36.3. She finished in 37th overall, but earned the Wildcats 35 points. She was the second runner from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference to cross the line as well, finishing behind Post's Kendall Fitzgerald who finished second overall.

Brown placed 52nd overall but earned the team 50 points with a time of 25:00.2, over two minutes faster than her previous 6K time at the UD Invite #1. Freshman Alexa Crowell was the third Wildcat to cross the line, finishing in 103rd overall with for 100 points. Crowell finished her first regional meet in 26:42.8.

Senior Nicole Brevoort was the fourth Wildcat to finish at the Regional, finishing in 114th place for 111 points. She completed the event in 27:00.6. Freshman Julia Merritt was the final scorer for the Wildcats on Saturday, completing the 6K even in 27:21.6 for 124 points, finishing 127th overall.

Junior Tara Langan placed 145 overall with a time of 28L11.5 while sophomore Emily Kockott completed the Wildcats on the course with a 152nd place finish in 28:53.3.

Stonehill's Emily Knox took home medalist honors with a first place finish, running the course in 22:43.6. Post's Fitzgerald was within six seconds of Knox, finishing in 22:50.0 for second place. Knox will represent the CACC at the National Championship with her second place finish.

Assumption won the women's race with 45 points while Stonehill finished second with 46 points. Roberts Wesleyan rounded out the top three with 110 points. The Wildcats placed 16th with 420 points.

Corrigan, the lone runner for the men after winning the CACC Championships, placed 36th overall with a 10K time of 35:11.2. Corrigan was the third CACC finisher, crossing the line after Jefferson's Milan Duka, and Chestnut Hill's Ziggy Fisher.

American International's Leakey Kipkosgei won the men's event with a time of 32:38.8, following by Southern New Hampshire's Tyler McLaren's 32:47.1.

Stonehill won the men's race with 39 points, followed by American International's 105 points. Stonehill had the third, fourth, ninth, 10th, and 13th place finishers to win. Merrimack rounded out the top three teams with 121 points.