Posted: Nov 12, 2011
Boots, Clement Shine as Wellesley XC Takes 6th at NCAA Regional
BRUNSWICK, Maine. – Led by All-Region finishes by junior Randelle Boots (2nd place) and senior Leah Clement (15th place), the Wellesley College cross country team posted a sixth place finish at the 2011 NCAA New England Regional at Bowdoin College. The sixth place finish marks the team's best regional finish since the 2005 season.
Boots secured a spot in the NCAA Championship with her time of 21:06.52, in the six-kilometer race, finishing behind only Chiara Del Piccolo of Williams, who finished with a time of 20:52.43. Clement finished with a time of 21:50.70, which puts in strong consideration for an at-large bid to next week's NCAA Championship.
Boots' second place finish ties Paula Andres '90 for the highest Blue finish at a NCAA regional meet. Andres achieved the feat at the 1989 NCAA regional. Boots' six-kilometer time is also new Wellesley cross country record, besting her own record of 21:40 that she ran at the 2010 NCAA Championship.
Also scoring for Wellesley were Camille Basurto who took 44th in 22:41.54. Molly Shanley who placed 54th in 22:54.68 and Ada Smith who finished 80th in 23:17.81. Nicole Chui (127th -24:12.12) and Andrea Gumushian (133rd-24:18.55) also ran for the Blue on Saturday. A total of 353 competitors finished the race.
In team scoring, Middlebury, the defending NCAA Division III Champions, took first place overall with 55 points. Williams finished as runner-up (60), while NEWMAC Champion, MIT, took third (134). Rounding out the top finishes, Amherst took fourth (142), Tufts fifth (181) and Wellesley finished sixth (186) out of 51 scoring teams.
The 2011 NCAA Cross Country Championship will take place next Saturday at Lake Breeze Golf Course, located in Winneconne, Wis. The championship is hosted by University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and will begin at 12:00pm.
Release written by Sports Information Intern, Avery Esdaile