LOGAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. -
Nora Blodgett and
Rose Teszler were top finishers as the Swarthmore College Women's Cross Country team earned a runner-up finish at the NCAA Metro Regional Championship at DREAM Park on Saturday.
The Garnet finished the regional championship as the runner-up with 102 points behind No. 27 Haverford, who finished with 88 points. Swarthmore finished second out of 24 teams. The meet was comprised of 157 finishers.
Blodgett crossed the finish line in fifth place with a time of 22:26.5 in the 6K race. Teszler earned a top ten finish with a time of 22:43.2, and crossed the line in tenth place.
Emma Novak added a top-25 finish as the senior finished the event in 23rd place with a time of 23:37.8.
Cat Crochunis-Brown was the fourth Garnet runner to finish the race. The junior recorded a time of 23:48.2 for a 30th place finish.
Alina Irvine rounded out the Garnet top five runners with a 34th place finish, and a time of 23:52.2.
Ella Shenkar and
Charisma Hasan rounded out the Swarthmore seven at the regional meet. Shenkar crossed in 24:20.2 for a 52nd place finish, while Hasan finished two spots behind her in 54th place and a time of 24:21.6
With finishes in the top 35, Blodgett, Teszler, Novak, Crochunis-Brown, and Irvine were named to the Metro All-Region team. Blodgett and Teszler earned bids to the NCAA Championships, while the rest of the team will have to wait until Sunday to see if the team will compete in the NCAA National Championships on November 20th in Louisville, Ky.
For the 2021 season, the NCAA announced a new procedure in selections for the NCAA Championships. A total of 32 teams compete as a team at the NCAA DIII Championships. 10 bids are automatic (top team in each of 10 regions), 22 bids are at-large. In addition, 70 individuals, not on qualifying teams, earn automatic selection based on their finish at the regional. The NCAA DIII Men's and Women's Track & Field and Cross Country Committee is tasked with selecting the 22 at-large teams for the national championships. Regional finish is the primary piece of at-large qualifying criteria. A team cannot be selected to the national meet over a team it finished behind at its respective regional.
