Mancl is 2nd, Ostrander 26th, as Bearcats Take 10th at NCAA Championships

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

WINNECONNE, Wis. -- Olivia Mancl (Jr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) took second place, just 2.3 seconds beind the winner, and Taylor Ostrander (Sr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS) earned 26th place, leading Willamette University to a 10th place finish in the women's team standings at the 2015 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 21. The 6-kilometer race was held at the Lake Breeze Golf Course.

"It was honestly really fun. I felt in a good competitive mindset. It was really exciting to have that translate into a good finish ... to do well," Mancl said.

"We're really happy," added Mancl. "The national meet is always an exciting and crazy race. I think everyone is really happy with how we were able to come together as a team and finish out a great year."

Abrah Masterson from Cornell College (Iowa) won the women's individual title in 21:23.1. Mancl was second at 21:25.4 and Maya Weigel from Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) placed third in 21:27.0. Weigel finished first and Mancl was second at the NCAA West Regional on Nov. 14.

Hannah Cole of Williams College (Mass.) took fourth place in Saturday's championship race with a time of 21:30.3. Ruth Steinke of Carleton College (Minn.) followed in fifth place at 21:31.4.

Mancl was fourth after 1,000 meters and eighth at the 2,000-meter mark, but improved to third at about 5,000 meters before claiming second place.

"It went out pretty fast, but there was a close pack up to about two or three miles," Mancl said. "Around three miles, the front of the pack began to string out. Two or three girls took off and I just went with them. I gained on the runner from Cornell toward the end, but she had built about a 50-meter gap."

Willamette's women took second place during the AAE Invitational at the Lake Breeze Golf Course on Oct. 17. According to Mancl, that expeirence and a similar experience in 2013 and 2104 helped her in this year's title race.

"It was definitely an advantage to have raced here. That was my fourth time on that course (once in 2013 and 2014, twice in 2015). I knew where I was at  entering the final mile of the race."

Ostrander earned 26th place and was 16th among scorers after edging out three runners by less than a second and three more by less than 2.5 seconds. Ostrander recorded a time of 21:42.3. Mancl and Ostrander each received All-America status by placing among the top 35 finishers.

"Right after she (Taylor) crossed the finish line I gave her a hug," Mancl said. "She knew she was an All-American."

"For me, being All-American was really emotional. It's something I've really been working toward for a few years. After getting close the past two years, it was great for me to get All-America," Ostrander said. "It was also really special to make All-America with Olivia.

"I'm just so happy to have been able to contribute to the team's 10th place finish," Ostrander said. "In the preseason, we set goals and one of them was to get to nationals and be a top 10 team. It's a great way to end my senior season and such a really awesome thing to do."

The top 53 runners all completed the course in less than 22 minutes.

Williams College won the women's team title with a score of 81 (2, 7, 13, 25, 34). SUNY Geneseo (N.Y.) placed second at 179 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology was third at 182. Johns Hopkins University (Md.), which won the previous three NCAA titles, finished fourth at 188. Fifth place went to Washington University (Mo.) at 193.

SUNY Oneonta (N.Y.) took sixth place with 217 points. Tufts University (Mass.) was seventh at 312, Middlebury College (Vt.) and secured eighth place at 324. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (N.Y.) edged Willamette by a single point for ninth place, as RPI had 337 points and the Bearcats had 338.

Juliet Farnan (Sr., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) of Willamette finished 123th (84th among scorers) in 22:29.3. Hannah Swanson (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) was 162nd (114th) in 22:45.6 and Ami Boucher (Jr., Concord, CA/Northgate HS) placed 171st (123rd) in 22:48.2.

Willamette recorded its third consecutive top 15 finish. The Bearcats were 12th in 2013 and took 15th in 2014.