Williamstown’s Anna Sasse, a senior, and Washington Township’s Ally Wernik, a sophomore, finished 8th and 12th out of nearly 200 runners Saturday and helped the Rowan women win the NCAA Division 3 Metro Region Championship in Galloway Township.
The regional title is the first ever for the Rowan women and earned the Profs an auto bid to the NCAA Division 3 Championships Saturday in Indiana.
Rowan was ranked No. 1 in the Metro Region and lived up to its ranking by outscoring No. 2 Swarthmore 81-86.
Rowan went 6-8-12-15-40, and Swarthmore was 9-10-11-17-39 so the two teams were within three spots for all five scorers.
Sasse ran 22:18.9 over 6,000 meters at Stockton University, and Wernik ran 22:50.4.
Grad student Mia Guerra from Hasbrouck Heights led the Profs in 6th place in 22:17.1. Junior Gabriella Pagano from Pope John XXIII [15th in 23:03.3] and sophomore Emily Zanni from Sherwood High in Olney, Md. [42nd in 23:54.8] were Rowan’s 4th and 5th scorers.
Also in the top 20 was Savannah Hodgens, a TCNJ sophomore from Mainland Regional. Hodgens placed 18th in 23:13.8.
Stockton’s No. 2 runner was post-grad Amanda McNally from Seneca, who ran 23:29.2 and finished 30th.
The NCAA Division 3 nationals women’s race is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at the Laverne Gibson Championship Course in Grange Corner, Ind., outside Terre Haute.
The top teams in each of 10 regionals earn auto bids to nationals and 22 at-large teams will also be invited, with the full field scheduled to be announced on Monday.
This will be Rowan’s 4th trip to nationals. The 1994 team placed 11th at Lehigh and the Profs also placed 26th and 27th in 2011 and 2012.
That 1994 group, coached by legendary Bill Fritz, was led at nationals by Cherry Hill East’s Antoinette Elton of Cherry Hill East in 29th and Suzanne Mergner of Colonia in 34th. Marcia Baker of Newark West Side, Pitman’s Janet Rue, Buena’s Michelle Garbeil, Kingsway’s Erica More and Bronawyn Hagan of Keansburg were also on that 1994 Rowan team.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 