The DBU Lady Patriot Cross Country finished in second place at the NCAA Division II South Central Region Cross Country Championships hosted by Abilene Christian University on Saturday, November 7. With the second place finish, the Ladies Patriots advance to the 2009 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships in Evansville, Indiana on the campus of the University of Southern Indiana, on November 21, for the first time in the history of the program. The Lady Patriots are also the first team in the entire DBU Athletic Department to advance to NCAA Nationals.
"We came to the Regional meet expecting to have to earn our way to Nationals and we did that today with a total team effort. We are very excited for the National meet in Indiana. I am so proud of each of these girls and the hard work they have put in this entire season," Head Cross Country Coach Jacob Phillips said.
The Lady Patriots finished with a total of 84 points to secure second place behind Missouri Southern University, who had 18 total points, and in front of Truman State University, who finished in third place with 97 points.
Leading the Lady Patriots, just as she has done the entire year, Senior Hannah Steffan finished in fourth place. Senior Laura Mucho finished in 12th place and was followed by Senior Lacey Morrison in 21st, Junior Tabbitha Ashford in 23rd, Senior Ashley Alford in 24th, Rachel Oncken in 26th and Sophomore Linet Kibet in 90th place to secure second place.
The Lady Patriots went into the Regional meet ranked 17th nationally and third in the South Central Region polls.
DBU had won their previous two meets, scoring 18 points at the NCAA Pre-Regional Meet hosted by Abilene Christian on October 10, and scoring 21 points at the Heartland Conference Championships on October 24, which was hosted at DBU. The Lady Patriots has won the Heartland Conference for the past three seasons.
During the 2008 season, the Lady Patriots finished fourth overall at the regional championships, but went on to finish second at the NCCAA National Championships a week later.
"This is a monumental day for the DBU Cross Country Program with their second place finish at Regionals and advancement to Nationals. Each one of these student-athletes and coaches have put in tons of work since August and have continued to excel throughout the 2009 season. Coach Phillips has done a magnificent job in building the Cross Country Program at DBU and has gained many firsts for the entire program. We are proud of the entire team and wish them luck at Nationals in two weeks," Ryan Erwin, Director of Athletics said.