Haddonfield graduate Katherine Rice placed 16th overall and helped The College of New Jersey earn an auto bid to the NCAA Division 3 Championships Saturday in the Metro Region race.
Rice was TCNJ’s 4th finisher, covering the 6,000-meter course at DREAM Park in Logan Township in a lifetime all-course PR of 22:57.8. TCNJ didn’t have a finisher in the top nine but packed its five scorers between 22:35.7 in 10th and 23:02.9 in 20th for a 67-83 win over 2nd-place Stockton.
That’s a 27-second pack in a championship race with 189 runners.
Stockton’s 3rd finisher was Madeline Valasek of Shawnee, who ran 23:08.2 and placed 23rd.
Rowan placed 4th and was led by junior Anna Sasse from Williamstown High School. Sasse ran 22:12.3 and placed 8th overall.
TCNJ and Stockton are ranked No. 1 and 2 in the most recent USTCCCA NCAA Division 3 Metro Region poll.
Only the winner of each region receives an automatic berth in the Division 3 Nationals. There will be 22 at-large teams selected from among the non-winning teams in the 10 Division 3 regions. Those teams will be announced Sunday.
The NCAA Division 3 Championship race is scheduled for Saturday in Newville, Pa., about 40 miles west of Harrisburg.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 