California Baptist University
NCAA Division II Championship (6K)
Lancers Make More History
11/18/2017 2:09:00 PM | Women's Cross Country, Cross Country, Cross Country & Track
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — For the second time in program history, top-ranked California Baptist University competed at the NCAA Division II Championship Meet as a team. Saturday morning, the Lancers grabbed their highest finish yet at the Angel Mounds course in Evansville, Ind.
The Lancers took third overall with 148 team points, becoming the first PacWest women's cross country team to crack the top-5, also improving on last year's ninth-place finish.
"Each year we just keep moving up, I'm pleased with that," said Coach Ben Gall. "They came away with a trophy and battled really well, so I'm just really proud of them."
PacWest Runner of the Year Emeline Delanis led CBU, taking fifth overall, as she clocked in at 20 minutes, 57.6 seconds. It concluded a great season for the junior with all of her finishes inside the top-five spots.
"I was super happy with my race because I didn't expect to be in the top-10," added Delanis. "I just tried to keep with them and I really just felt good."
Anett Somogyi followed Delanis, finishing only twelve spots behind her, taking 17th place in 21:27.00, while Caroline Barkechir finished in 30th place with a time of 21:36.8. All three Lancers picked up All-American honors with their top-40 placings.
"Caroline – what a storybook ending for her and her career," added Gall. "She's just really battled through a lot things the last two years, she's been at this meet three times and always been a leader of our team. Today she kinda came in as a role player. That's the first-ever All-American honor she's achieved and it's on her last race for CBU. I'm just really proud of her and excited for her."
Kate Robinson wasn't far behind Barkechir, taking 43rd place in 21:47.8, while Katie Deimling took 69th and crossed the finish line in 22:10.4 to be the final scorer for the Lancers.
"I'm happy with how we did today because we really wanted to win," added Delanis. "I think how we did was great because everyone did their best and ran as fast as they could. I'm very proud of the team."
Leanda du Bruyn and Fruzsi Ladany clocked in at 22:25.5 and 22.28.0, respectively, to finish the day for the Lancers.
Ultimately, CBU had one of their best cross country seasons of all time – being ranked the No. 1 team in the division for the past month, winning their fourth-straight and fifth overall PacWest title, and first-ever NCAA Division II West Regional – and will now take on an even bigger step with seeing new Division I opponents in the Western Athletic Conference in 2018.
Full Results
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