FINAL RESULTS
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (SMU) – Hannah Miller and Svenja Ojstersek earned spots in the NCAA Cross Country Championship after their performance at the NCAA South Central Regional on Friday morning at the Dale Watts Cross Country Course.
Hannah Miller came in to the day looking for her third straight trip to the NCAA Championships. The New Zealand native did not disappoint, coming in fifth with a time of 20:36.6, her sixth top-five finish in as many races on the 2018 season. Miller is the fifth Mustang to be named a three-time All-Region performer.
Svenja Ojstersek extended her impressive first season competing with SMU cross country with an 8th-place showing. As the third finisher from a non-qualifying school, Svenja punched a ticket to Madison, Wisconsin for the NCAA Championships next Saturday. Ojstersek ran a 20:51.8, only 31 seconds back of the leader. The combo of Ojstersek and Miller have proven to be the Mustangs dynamic duo for 2018 as the Mustangs top-two finishers in every race this season. It was the first time since 2009 that the Mustangs had two top-10 Regional performers.
With a top-25 finish, senior Anneke Grogan capped her Mustang cross country career off with an All-Region performance. Grogan came on strong in the final portion of the race, making a nine-spot jump in the final third of the race.Â
As a team, the Mustangs finished in sixth among the 22 competing teams. Arkansas won their eighth straight regional thanks to having the top finisher, Katrina Robinson, and sweeping the top-four spots. Texas earned the other NCAA qualifying bid.
Robin Montemayor ran a 22:41.9, good for 66th. Charlotte Tara Murphy finished five spots behind in 71st with a time of 22:44.3. Alison Esparza recorded a 22:57.7 over the six kilometers and finished in 85th among the 156 total competing athletes.
The NCAA Championship is set for Nov. 17 from Madison, Wisconsin. This will be the first time the Mustangs will have two competing at the NCAA Championship since 2013.
Post-Meet Quotes, Head Coach Cathy Casey
On team's performance today…
"The girls all ran really tough. For almost every single one of them, it was their best race of the season in how they executed. They went out on a really difficult course, in difficult conditions, 40 something degrees and mud and rain. They did a great job in executing exactly what we needed to do. We've got three All-Region and two going on to Nationals. So, I'm really proud of this group and I'm ready to see what we can do in Madison."
On the team's season overall…
"I think that we really came together. It was a good group that really meshed well and was really positive the entire season. It all came together when we wanted it to. I don't think the finish was where we wanted to today, but I do think it sets us up well for what we can achieve on the track and I'm really excited to see again what SMU can represent on the national scene in Madison. Then, we're going to get ready for track season. I think we're going to use this as a springboard to see what we can do there."
Â
