Women's Cross Country Earns Highest Ever Finish at Mid-Atlantic Regional

Friday, November 9

State College, Pa.

12:00 P.M.

Temple University

NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional

Women's Cross Country Earns Highest Ever Finish at Mid-Atlantic Regional

11.9.18 | Women's Cross Country

RESULTS

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The records continue to drop for the Temple University women's cross country team, as the Owls earned a program-high fourth place finish at the 2018 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet on Friday, Nov. 9. Running the 6,000-meter Blue and White Golf Course in State College, Pa., the women crushed their regional ranking of No. 8 and defeated a West Virginia squad that received votes in the latest national polls. Two Owls earned All-Region honors for the first time in history, with Grace Moore and Kira Von Ehren each placing in the top 25, leading the squad their most complete team finish of the year.

Results
> The Owls shined at today's regional meet, finishing fourth out of 30 teams with 158 total points. Not only is this six places higher than last year's record-breaking 10th place finish, but they also finished four spots higher than their regional ranking of No. 8 in the latest USTFCCCA polls. They landed two on the All-Region squad for the first time in program history and placed their entire top five in the top 50 out of the 205 person field.
> The No. 8 nationally ranked Villanova squad took home the regional title on Friday, qualifying for NCAA's for the fourth year in a row and the 30th time in program history. Winning the meet with 33 team points, the individual title also went to a Wildcat as Rachel McArthur crossed the line first in the 205 person field with a time of 21:03. The squad placed four in the top 10 and landed six runners on the All-Region team.
> Princeton earned the region's other automatic bid to the national meet, finishing second overall with 64 points. After receiving votes in the latest national poll, the Tigers will compete at NCAA's for the first time since 2015, earning their 12th berth in program history.
> The No. 13 nationally ranked Penn State squad finished third overall with 91 points. The hosts put two in the top 10 and four in the top 25, with their highest finisher placing sixth with a time of 21:22.

Quotable
> "This was by far the most complete race we have ever put together as a team during the six years that I've been a part of this program," said head coach James Snyder. "To see two ladies step up to be All-Region was fantastic, but the strength of our team has been consistent all year. From 1-5 and 1-7, it was probably the tightest spread of time that we have had all year. To end up fourth in the region behind three nationally recognized teams, and beating a whole host of squads that we have never beaten before like Penn, Georgetown and West Virginia was great for the ladies, and I think is going to be a great confidence booster as we head into track season."

How it Happened
> First to cross the finish line for Temple was Moore, who placed 21st overall for the second highest individual finish at the region meet in program history. The junior ran the 6,000-meter course in 21:44, earning Temple's number one spot for the second time this season. The top-25 finish earned her a spot on the All-Region squad for the first time in her career.
> Finishing just one second later alongside her teammate was Von Ehren, who crossed the line 22nd overall with a time of 21:45. This marks the third highest finish at the region meet in Temple history, earning a spot on the All-Region team. The accolades awarded to the junior pair marks the first time the Owls have ever placed two in the top 25.
> Sophomore Michelle Joyce also put on an impressive performance at the Mid-Atlantic Regional meet, finishing just six seconds later with a time of 21:51. After earning All-Conference honors from the American Athletic Conference two weeks ago, Joyce nearly missed All-Region tabs by four places after her stellar 6,000-meter run.
> Sophomore Helene Gottlieb finished next in Cherry and White, running the course in 22:09 to earn 42nd overall. Wrapping up the top five for the Owls was senior Katie Leisher, who placed 44th with a time of 22:11.

Up Next
> The Owls will wrap up their best regular-season to date on Saturday, Nov. 17 when they head to New York, N.Y. to compete at the IC4A Championships.