Swanson Places 95th out of 279 Runners at NCAA Cross Country Championships

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

ELSAH, Ill. -- Hannah Swanson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) from Willamette finished in 95th place in the women's 6-kilometer race at the 2017 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18 at the North Farm Cross Country Facility. Swanson completed the course in 22:11.2.

Swanson was one of three Bearcats who competed at the NCAA Championships. Michael Montague (So., San Diego, CA/Canyon Crest Academy) placed 165th in the men's 8-kilometer race with a time of 25:50.04. Keith Carlson (Jr., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) took 188th place in 25:58.39. Montague and Carlson helped WU win its sixth consecutive Northwest Conference men's team title earlier this fall.

In the women's race, Khia Kurtenbach from the University of Chicago grabbed first place with a time of 20:39.2. Bryn McKillop from Claremont-Mudd-Scripss (Calif.) placed second in 20:45.9, with Ellie Clawson of Johns Hopkins University (Md.) in third place at 20:47.0. Kaitlyn Mooney of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy was fourth in 20:48.3, just in front of Nicky Roberts from Amherst College (mass.), who was fifth in 20:49.5. Meg Mathison took sixth place for Carleton College (Minn.) in 21:00.3, and Abigail Nadler of Middlebury College (Vt.) was seventh in 21:00.9. The women's race included 279 runners.

Johns Hopkins claimed its second women's team championship in a row with a score of 96 (3-14-19-28-32), giving the Blue Jays their fifth title in six years. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was second at 191, with Washingotn University (Mo.) in third at 202. Masssachusetts Institute of Technlogy finished in fourth place at 210, while Carleton College (Minn.) was fifth at 258, and SUNY Geneseo (N.Y.) was sixth at 274. Tufts University (Mass.) placed seventh at 294.

The top finisher from the West Region in the women's team standings was Whitworth University in 13th place. A total of 32 teams battled for the title.

Darin Lau from UW-Eau Claire won the men's individual national championship in 24:03.59. The next two finishers were from North Central College (Ill.), with Jared Borowsky in second place at 24:12.44 and Dhruvil Patel in third place at 24:14.15. Grant Oliver from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (N.Y.) was fourth at 24:19.35.

Reid Grayson of Christopher Newport University (Va.) placed fifth in 24:20.60, and Isaac Garcia-Cassani of SUNY Geneseo was sixth at 24:32.24. Pacific Lutheran University runner Brad Hodlkinson was seventh in 24:32.25. Hodkinson won his second consecutive NWC individual title this season.

North Central won the their second consecutive men's team championship with a score of 57 (2-3-7-14-31). It was NCC's fifth title in the last seven years. University of Wisconson-La Crosse placed second at 196, while Christopher Newport was third at 221. Amherst College (Mass.) took fourth place at 251, and Washington University (Mo.) was fifth at 269. Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.), representing the West Region, was sixth at 282. UW-Eau Claire was seventh at 283. A total of 32 teams competed for the team title and 279 runners participated in the race.