Photo courtesy of Ken Moreland | Madeline Britton qualified for the NCAA National Cross Country Championship after placing 12th at the Great Lakes Regional Final.
Senior cross country runner Madeline Britton qualified for the NCAA National Cross Country Championship after placing 12th in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Final. Britton’s time in the 6K was 20:53.
“Individually, Maddie Britton had an amazing day,” head coach Ryan Orner said. “She was with the lead pack at 3K, she responded really well when the pace picked up at 4K and she ran really strong over the last 1ks. The race was so close that the 10th through 12th spots came down to six tenths of a second.
“To finish 12th individually in one of the toughest regions in the country is something Maddie should be really proud of.”
Orner also said, “Making the NCAA Finals in cross country has been something that Maddie has been working toward for the past four years. Every run, every workout session, every trip to the training room culminated on Friday for her shot at the ultimate goal. Achieving this goal hasn’t been easy.”
Britton will be competing for the women’s individual title in the NCAA National Cross Country Championship, which will be held on Saturday at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky.
As a whole, the women’s team placed 14th out of 31 teams, beating rivals Butler (20th) and UC (21st).
In addition to Britton, Jenna Clayworth (63rd) and Allison Sinning (76th) finished in the top 100 with times of 21:43 and 22:04 respectively.
Xavier had four more runners finish in the top 150, with Jennifer Prial (108th) posting a time of 22:40 and Anna Kostarellis (129th) finishing in 22:56. Brooke Hines (133rd) crossed the line at 23:02, and Jane Onders (147th) completed the race in 23:20.
By: Donnie Menke ~Staff Writer~