Meet Results

CANTON, NY (November 12, 2011) – Bittersweet was the only word head Vassar women's cross country coach James McCowan could use to describe the 6th place finish earned by the Brewers on Saturday afternoon at the 6k NCAA Atlantic Regional hosted by St. Lawrence University.

For the second straight year, Vassar finished sixth, one slot out of earning a team qualification to the NCAA Division III Championships that will be held on November 19th at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.  If there is a silver lining for the Brewers, junior Kelly Holmes finished 19th out of 256 runners, and is in contention for individual qualification.

McCowan said Holmes is on the bubble depending on how many teams the region sends to the nationals. “If the region takes five teams, which I think will happen, then Kelly is the 7th individual to qualify,” McCowan explained. That decision will be made late Sunday afternoon. 

Vassar placed 6th out of 36 teams with 201 points. National power St. Lawrence won the region with 77 points, followed by Geneseo (91), Plattsburgh (99), Rowan (113) and New York University (168), among the top five teams.

Holmes and senior Elizabeth Forbes earned All-Region honors by virtue of their 18th and 27th finishes respectively. The top 35 runners earn All-Region honors.

“The bottom line is that I am very pleased,” said McCowan. “It stings to be sixth for a second year in a row, but I can't take anything away from the team. We had a bit of a topsy-turvy race. Aubree Piepmeier was impacted by the flu and wasn't 100 percent and Harper Cleaves was struggling with an injury. It was a very exciting performance by the team, and I am very proud of them.”

Holmes led Vassar across the finish line, placing 19th overall with a 22:45 time. “Kelly got out from the start and did a great job closing it out,” said McCowan.

Forbes was not far behind finishing in 27th position with a 22:54 times. “Elizabeth was a few steps back and out of contention for a second straight trip to nationals (Forbes qualified last season), but it was a very competitive field, and she ran a serious and gutsy race.”

A pair of freshmen runners, Cassady Carpenter and Viviane Ford, proved they have bright futures ahead, finishing in 47th and 53rd places respectively, with 23:23 and 23:26 times. “Both of those runners had breakout races and extraordinary performances as freshmen,” said McCowan. “There are exciting things ahead for both of them.”

Senior Samantha Creath closed out her career with a strong fifth place team finish and 55th overall (23:29). “It was exciting to see Samantha make it to the regional meet and step up as she did today,” said McCowan.

Piepmeier finished 61st overall (23:37), followed by Cleaves in 84th (24:11).  Both runners were hampered by injury.

“We defeated Cortland, a team that nipped us out of the nationals last year and had been ahead of us in regional rankings all season,” said McCowan. “We did a great job today. We beat a lot of great teams in a very competitive region and were one place out of nationals. Today showed the consistent running of our women and the depth we have. To be sixth in the region two years in a row is a major accomplishment and I am very proud of the team."