WAVERLY, IA  (November 20, 2010) – For the first time in Vassar College women's cross country history, the Brewers had two runners qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championships. On an extremely cold afternoon for running, juniors Elizabeth Forbes and Johanna Spangler were hampered by a race technicality in Saturday's competition at Wartburg College.

Forbes finished the 6k championship race run on Wartburg's Max Cross Country Course in 23:06, a 199th place finish in a field with 280 qualifiers. Spangler, who had been battling lower back problems all week, was forced to withdraw from the competition after her back tightened up considerably following a false start – a rare occurrence in cross country. Spangler's back spasms forced her to remain on the line for the race restart.

“Roughly 50 meters into the race, there was a false start and a subsequent re-start which affected both Elizabeth and Johanna in different ways,” said head coach James McCowan. “In a race of this magnitude and with high caliber competition, a lot of what happens race-wise is determined early on. After the recall, Elizabeth got boxed out at the line and was pushed back. It's not an excuse, just an unfortunate situation, and although Elizabeth ran a decent race, she had trouble regaining the type of push she needed at the start.”

Spangler's back was tightening up during warm-ups, but according to McCowan “she courageously fought through it and got out to a good position before the race was recalled.” Once the field was set for the second start, Spangler's back problems made it difficult for her to even get off the line.

“Johanna was very brave and put on a great face,” explained McCowan. “But the smart thing to do was not try to fight through it. We tried to protect her body all week, but with an upcoming track season and her senior cross country season next year, Johanna needs to recover from this injury and get healthy.”

At the 2008 NCAA Division III National Cross-Country Championships, Spangler finished 93rd out of 273 runners, with a time of 22:25. Spangler was the 11th freshman to finish the race, and 12th among all runners from the Atlantic Region.

In 2010, the women's cross country team set a new bench mark for excellence. “We had a record breaking season,” McCowan said. “Our women's program has really come a long way from being a team that had occasional standout runners to a team that from top to bottom has become a national caliber program. We're excited about coming back next year fall and putting together another great season.”