Nashua, N.H. - The Roberts Wesleyan men's and
women's cross country teams qualified for the NCAA Division II
National Championship meet with their performances at the East
Regional on Saturday. The women's team won the East Region, while
the men's squad finished third to earn the final qualifying
spot.
The Redhawks continued their excellent season in their first season
as full Division II members. After both won the ECC Championship
earlier in the fall, it is believed that they are the first ever
ECC teams to qualify for the National Championship meet.
The women's team came in first place, paced by senior Rachel
Prutsman. Prutsman was the first finisher across the line in the 6k
race in a time of 21:36.0. In all, Roberts placed five runners in
the top 11 to finish with a team score of 31, outpacing runner-up
and five-time defending East Region Champion, Stonehill, by 14
points.
The men's team was led by Kevin Brown's ninth place finish in a
time of 31:50.6 over the 10k course. Roberts top five runners
finished in the top 28 for a team score of 95, which was good for
third place and a spot in the NCAA Championship meet.
In addition to Roberts Wesleyan's teams qualifying, two individuals
from LIU Post qualified for the Division II Championship meet as
well. The ECC Women's Runner and Rookie of the Year, Talya
Williams, finished in second place behind Prutsman in a time of
21:41.3, while in the men's race, Michael Scott finished sixth by
crossing the line in 31:38.5. Williams and Scott earned spots as a
Top-Three runner from a non-qualifying team.
The NCAA Division II Championship race will take place on December
6 at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky.
To view full results from the NCAA Division II East Regional races,
click here.
