Hopkinton, N.H. - The Roberts Wesleyan and St. Thomas Aquinas women's cross country teams and Sarah Jerotich of NYIT and Mackenzie Donahue from Daemen qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championship meet with their performances at the East Regional on Sunday.
A year after becoming the first team from the ECC to qualify for the National Championship meet since former member Adelphi's women's team in 2002, Roberts Wesleyan will return for the second year in a row after a second place finish at the regional. Roberts finished with 128 points in total, well off the pace of regional champion Stonehill's 48, but still good enough for second place and the NCAA Championship berth. The ECC Champions were paced by Elizabeth Valento, who posted an eighth place finish in a time of 22:00.2 over the 6k course.
Roberts Wesleyan will be joined by St. Thomas Aquinas after the Spartans qualified for the National Championship race for the first time in program history. The Spartans were led by two top-15 finishers to finish with 160 points and a third place finish. Meaghan Ventarola finished in 12th place with a time of 22:07.7, while Kristen Borriello was right behind in 13th with a time of 22:08.5.
In addition to the teams qualifying, two individuals qualified for the Division II Championship meet, as well. The ECC Women's Runner of the Year, Sarah Jerotich, finished in second place in a time of 21:34.9, while Mackenzie Donahue crossed the line in third place in a time of 21:42.5. Jerotich and Donahue earned spots as one of the top-three runners from a team that did not qualify for the National Championship. With Daemen in their first year as active members of Division II, Donahue also makes history by becoming the first student-athlete ever from Daemen to qualify for an NCAA Championship.
The NCAA Division II Championship race will take place on November 21 at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course in Joplin, Mo.
To view full results from the NCAA Division II East Regional races, click here.
