Ferris Men 12th At NCAA Regionals
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's cross
country team is headed to the NCAA Division II National
Championships for the third consecutive year after placing second
overall in the 2010 NCAA-II Midwest Regional on Saturday (Nov. 20)
in Louisville, Ky.
The Bulldog women tallied 79 points in placing behind regional
champion Grand Valley State (26 points). Hilldale took third
(138) with the top three squads in the 22-team regional field all
advancing to the national championships.
Meanwhile, the Bulldog men concluded their 2010 season with a
12th-place finish (324 points). GVSU also won the men's crown with
21 points.
In addition to earning runner-up laurels, the Bulldog women's team
also had the region's individual champion as senior Tina Muir
finished first at the regional meet for the second consecutive
year. Muir was clocked in 21:05.96 on the 6K course at E.P. "Tom"
Sawyer State Park and finished nearly five seconds ahead of
second-place performer Katherine McCarthy of Grand Valley
State.
Freshman Samantha
Johnson also placed among the region's top 15
performers with an 11th-place finish (21:50.01). FSU
sophomore Alyssa Osika
came in 18th (22:20.32), sophomore Anna Rudd was
24th (22:29.35) and freshman Brittany
Anderson took 25th (22:31.31) as the Bulldog women
placed five in the top 25 overall.
Sophomore Shelby
Janutol was right behind in 27th place (22:33.75) and
senior Paige
Onweller came in 49th (23:01.39) among the 150 runners
in the women's field.
In the men's race, the Bulldogs were led by freshman David
Silversmith's 44th-place showing (32:41.63) on the 10K
course. He was followed by sophomore Michael
Schulte in 44th place (32:44.45) with sophomore
Ryan Chute coming in 52nd (33:00.56) and freshman
Bill King placing 91st (33:58.41).
Sophomore Andrew Campbell wound up 100th
(34:11.56) in the field followed by senior Derek
Childs in 108th place (34:32.14) and sophomore
Jordan Slate at 124th (35:41.94).
The men's field included 143 runners with GVSU's Tyler Emmorey
capturing first-place honors in a time of 30:58.72 overall.
The Ferris women's cross country team is ranked eighth in the
latest United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches
Association (USTFCCCA) Division II National Rankings under
third-year head coach Steve Picucci.
The Ferris women's cross country team ran to a 11th-place team
finish while tying for the second-highest finish in school history
during the 2009 NCAA Division II National Championships last fall
(Nov. 21) in Evansville, Ind. It marked the second consecutive trip
to nationals for the FSU women after they placed third in the
regional for the second-straight campaign.
This year now represents only the fifth time in history the
Bulldog women's cross country team has qualified as a team for the
national championships as their 2008 and 2009 berths were the
program's first appearances since 1987.
A year ago, Muir took 12th place overall for the second-straight
year at the 2009 NCAA Division II National Championships in earning
All-America honors for the second consecutive campaign.
The NCAA Division II National Championships will also be held in
Louisville on Saturday, Dec. 4.
