Kylie Anicic earned All-America honors Saturday with a 12th-place finish in the NCAA Division 2 cross country national championships – her final collegiate cross country race.
Anicic, a Kingsway graduate and Edinboro senior, ran a lifetime-best 20:12.2 over 6,000 meters on the Tom Rutledge Cross Country course in Joplin, Mo.
She was out in 5:19.8 for the first mile and in 29th place and gradually moved up to 22nd coming through 3,000 meters at 10:08.7, 18th at 4,000 meters in 13:30.5 and 15th at the 5K in 16:55.8 and then passed three runners in the final 1,000.
Her time is a 6,000-meter all-course PR. Her previous 6K best was a 20:13.7 in September when she won a race at Lock Haven.
Anicic placed 31st last year in her first NCAA Division 2 national championship race in University Place, Wash. Including indoor and outdoor track and XC, she’s now a six-time All-America.
She’s won the last two NCAA Atlantic Region titles and was named USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Runner of the Year.
Anicic’s 12th-place is the best by an Edinboro woman since at least 2010. Unfortunately, while Edinburg’s web site lists previous All-America performers in program history it does not list their place. And the USTCCCA web site does not list results before 2010. And I looked for a while but couldn’t find them anywhere.
Lindsay Cunningham of Winona (Minn.) State was the overall winner in 19:30.1. Grand Valley State of Allendale, Mich., won the team title with 59 points.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 