Another huge race, another huge win for Kylie Anicic.
Anicic, a junior at Edinboro and a 2018 Kingsway graduate, won the NCAA Division 2 Atlantic Regional Saturday over 6,000 meters at the Lambs Creek course along the Tioga River basin in Richmond Township, Tioga County, just north of Mansfield, Pa.
Anicic won by 85 meters over teammate Kimberly Goerss, who was 2nd in 21:25. Their 1-2 finish propelled Edinboro to 2nd place in team scoring with 84 points, behind only Charleston (W. Va.). Charleston and Edinboro are ranked No. 1 and 2 in thte Atlantic Region.
As the top finisher, Anicic qualified for the NCAA Division 2 Championships, and as one of the top three teams, Edinboro will race as a full team as well. D-2 Nationals are scheduled for Dec. 2, at Chambers Bay Golf Club in University Place, Wash., outside Tacoma.
This is Anicic’s first collegiate XC season since 2019, when she was a sophomore at Towson after beginning her collegiate career as a soccer player at Temple.
In her only previous NCAA regional race, Anicic placed 76th for Towson in the Division 1 Mid-Atlantic Regional at Lehigh in 21:50 three years ago this week.
Edinboro has finished 1st or 2nd in its D-2 regionals in nine of the last 10 meets. The Fighting Scots placed 2nd in 2012 and 2015 and won the title in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. Edinboro tied for 10th in 2016, and the meet wasn’t held in 2020.
This will be the Scots’ 26th trip to nationals and 5th in a row. The program’s top finishes were 2nd place in 2004 and 3rd place in 1999.
On the same course a week earlier, Anicic ran 21:09 and Goerss 22:06 as Edinboro won its 4th straight PSAC Championship.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 