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Complete Results
Men
Women
EDINBORO, PA – In September long-time
Edinboro University cross country coach Doug Watts figured his
November would be unlike those in many years. With three key
performers forced to redshirt due to injuries on both his men’s
and women’s cross country teams, it appeared Edinboro’s
reign as one of the top cross country program in Division II would
take a brief break.
But in a testament to Watt’s coaching
skills, his 2006 Fighting Scots peaked at just the right time,
with both teams qualifying for Nationals thanks to second place
finishes at the East Regional two weeks ago.
On Saturday, the Edinboro women’s cross
country team capped an unlikely campaign with a tenth-place finish
at the NCAA Division II National Championships in Pensacola, FL.
The men’s cross country team, meanwhile, finished 19th out of
24 competing teams. The cross country championships were part of
the NCAA Division II Fall Festival, with a total of six
championships decided over a four-day period. The races took place
at the Escambia County Equestrian Center.
Watts even had a chance to take part in his
favorite pastime other than coaching his team – fishing. He
hauled in a redfish that weighed 20 lbs. and measured 32 ½
inches.
But Watts was even more pleased that two of his
runners reeled in All-American honors. Rachael Lanzel (St.
Marys, PA/St. Marys), following her game plan of running with
the lead pack, turned in one of the top performances ever by a
female Boro runner, finishing fourth with a time of 20:28.5. That
was just 19 seconds behind the winner, Esther Komen of Western
State. It marked the second All-American certificate for the
junior, who finished 24th as a freshman in 2004. She is just the
seventh women’s runner in Boro history earn multiple
All-American certificates. Lanzel had earlier won the PSAC
Championship, then finished second at the East Regional.
On the men’s side, Dave Niemira
(Strongsville, OH/Strongsville) completed a strong campaign
with 30th place finish, good enough for All-American honors. The
junior covered the 10K course in a time of 30:32.8.
Adams State finished first in the women’s
competition with a total of 94 points, edging second-place Western
State (101 points). Grand Valley State was third (165), with Cal
St. Los Angeles fourth (169) and Harding fifth (186).
While most teams had seven competitors, with
five scoring, the Edinboro women’s team had just five healthy
runners. After Lanzel, the next three finishers were freshmen.
Becca Nungesser (Clarence Center, NY/Clarence) was 53rd
(21:49.6), with Erica Bourgeois (Boonville, NY/Adirondack)
was 68th (22:08.9), and Kristine Beringer (Lockport,
NY/Lockport) was 74th (22:17.7). Sophomore Ashley Ferraro
(Erie, PA/ Central) completed the Edinboro contingent,
finishing 89th with a time of 22:36.5
Abilene Christian finished first in the men’s
race with 65 points. Adams State (82) was next, followed by
Western State (141) in third, Chico State (171) in fourth, and
Grand Valley State (217) in fifth. Nicodemus Naimadu of Abilene
Christian win his third NCAA title with a time of 29:17.5.
For the rest of the men’s team, Josh
Arthur (Turin, NY/South Lewis Central) was 62nd (31:29.1),
Jeff McCabe (Exeter, PA/Wyoming Area) was 93rd (32:02.0),
David Blend (North Canton, OH/Hoover) was 118th (32:37.2),
and Andrew Thoman (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville) was
134th (32:57.5). Eric Brenner (Wooster, OH/ Wooster)
(141st – 33:09.0) and Ryan Sheer (Liverpool,
NY/Liverpool) (156th – 34:21.3) also competed for the
Scots.
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