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Women's Cross Country

Mitchell Third, Titans 13th At NCAA Championship

Results

Ayla Mitchell's (Sr. • New Richmond) third All-America performance led UW-Oshkosh to a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championship held Saturday (Nov. 21) at the Highland Park Golf Course in Highland Hills, Ohio.

Mitchell crossed the finish line in this year's 6,000-meter race with a third-place time of 21:46. She previously recorded national finishes of 13th in 2007 and third in 2008. Mitchell becomes the sixth UW-Oshkosh runner to earn three All-America awards, joining Tiffany (Speckman) Ebensperger (1994, 1996-97), Tiffany Fox (1986-88), Laura Horejs (1989-91), Cheryl Niederberger (1986-88) and Liz Woodworth (2001, 2003-04).

Wendy Pavlus of St. Lawrence University (N.Y.) won this year's individual title with a time of 21:28. Defending champion Marie Borner of Bethel University (Minn.) finished second in 21:45, Lauren Reich of DePauw University (Ind.) fourth in 21:50 and Joanna Johnson of Oberlin College (Ohio) fifth in 21:54.

UW-Eau Claire tallied 171 points to win its first NCAA Division III title. The Blugolds' winning score was the second highest in the 29-year history of the event.

St. Lawrence University finished second in the 32-team meet with 180 points, while Calvin College (Mich.) placed third with 195, defending champion Middlebury College (Vt.) fourth with 244 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology fifth with 254.

Rounding out the top 10 teams were sixth-place Whitworth University (Wash.) with 291 points, seventh-place Johns Hopkins University (Md.) with 306, eighth-place Williams College (Mass.) with 309, ninth-place State University of New York-Geneseo with 320 and 10th-place Washington University (Mo.) with 334. UW-Oshkosh took 13th place with 398 points.

Joining Mitchell as a contributor to UW-Oshkosh's team score were Jennifer Piskor (Jr. • Eagan, Minn.), McKenzie Kelly (Fr. • New Richmond), Allison Gehl (Jr. • Sherwood) and Mallory Burk (Jr. • Athens). Piskor finished 80th with a time of 23:26, while Kelly placed 114th in 23:45, Gehl 167th in 24:11 and Burk 196th in 24:29.

Other UW-Oshkosh participants at the meet were Cassie Petersen (Jr. • Marinette) and Brittany Haas (Jr. • St. Charles, Ill.). Petersen ranked 219th with a time of 24:51 and Haas 241st in 25:14. A total of 279 runners completed the course.

UW-Oshkosh's appearance at the NCAA Division III Championship was its 21st in 24 years and 23rd overall. The Titans captured national titles in 1987, 1988, 1991 and 1996, while finishing second in the country in 1989, 1990 and 1995 and third in 1986, 1994 and 1998. UW-Oshkosh placed 18th at last year's meet with 405 points.