1997 NAIA Women’s Cross Country – National Championship Results

Originally posted on NAIA website.

18th Annual NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championships
November 15, 1997
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, Wis.
10:30 a.m. (Central)

Recap:
Simon Fraser University (B.C.) clinched its second consecutive women’s team title as the Clan totaled a score of 56 points. Heather DeGeest, a junior two-time All-American, outlasted teammate and three-time defending national champion Cari Rampersad in the five-kilometer race by 20 meters to claim the individual title in time of 18:33. Going into this year’s race, DeGeest had finished second behind Rampersad for two consecutive years. Rampersad finished in 18:40.

The University of Puget Sound (Wash.) finished a distant second place in the women’s race as the Loggers scattered four runners among the top thirty finishers including Kate Schmitt, who placed third with a time of 18:56.

The 1997 NAIA Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year is Ben Welch from Eastern Oregon University. The Mountaineers, who place 25th in 1996, earned sixth in this year’s race.

	Team Results
Place	School	Score
1	Simon Fraser University	56
2	University of Puget Sound	118
3	Westmont College	147
4	Hillsdale College	204
5	Berry College	231
6	Eastern Oregon University	269
7	Pacific Lutheran University	281
8	Malone College	282
9	Phillips University	284
10	Azusa Pacific University	320
11	Siena Heights College	347
12	Concordia College, NE	369
13	University of Mary	384
14	Houghton College	387
15	Western Oregon University	420
16	Aquinas College	446
16	University of Rio Grande	446
18	Oklahoma Baptist University	459
19	Cedarville College	461
20	Olivet Nazarene University	467
21	Jamestown College	478
22	Whitworth College	488
23	Dakota State University	495
24	Park College	507
25	Spring Arbor College	527
26	Huntington College	659
27	Southwestern College	667
28	Lindenwood College	724
29	University of Mobile	797
30	Southeastern Oklahoma State University	919
31	Georgian Court College	926
32	Midway College	966
33	Flagler College	1048
34	Dominican College	1054
35	Shorter College	1084
	Individual Results*
Place	Runner, School	Time
1	Heather Degeest,, Simon Fraser University	18:33
2	Cari Rampersad, Simon Fraser University	18:40
3	Kate Schmitt, University of Puget Sound	18:56
4	Tina Richards, Siena Heights College	19:04
5	Marie Parker, Dakots State University	19:17
6	Carolyn Murray, Simon Fraser University	19:28
7	Leslie Ervin, Aquinas College	19:31
8	Susan Wells, Berry College	19:35
9	Michelle Abernathy, Berry College	19:37
10	Hellen Jelimo, Cascade College	19:44
11	Annaka Gustafson, Westmont College	19:45
12	Ann Marie Hynes, University of Rio Grande	19:46
13	Paustine Kigen, Life University	19:47
14	Andrea Boitano, University of Puget Sound	19:48
15	Desneige McLean, Simon Fraser University	19:49
16	Erin Courtright, Cornerstone College	19:50
17	Gabriela Hnilkova, Oklahoma Baptist University	19:50
18	Sara Vanschyndel, Hillsdale College	19:52
19	Shane Harris, Berry College	19:56
20	Kirsty Weir, Phillips University	19:56
21	Laurie Fox, University of Mary	19:58
22	Jennifer Funk, Eastern Oregon University	20:02
23	Amy Crews, Marian College	20:07
24	Jackie Bucholz, Hillsdale College	20:08
25	Becky Jordan, Cedarville College	20:08
26	Stacey Wenger, Malone College	20:08
27	Heather McDowell, Westmont College	20:09
28	Amy Luft, Concordia College, NE	20:13
29	Tara Overstreet, Phillips University	20:15
30	Brittany Riggins, Cumberland College	20:16

* top thirty individuals were named NAIA All-Americans

Click here for complete field results.

Qualification:
Here is the 36-team field for the 1997 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championships. Conference/section champions are listed first alphabetically by conference. Listed after the conference/section champions are the at-large qulifiers into this year’s race.

Cascade Collegiate Conference: Eastern Oregon University
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference: Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.)
Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Voorhees College (S.C.)
Far West Region: Dominican College (Calif.)
Florida Sun Conference: Flagler College (Fla.)
Georgia Athletic Conference: Shorter College (Ga.)
Golden State Athletic Conference: Westmont College (Calif.)
Great Plains Region: University of Mary (N.D.)
Gulf Coast Athletic Conference: University of Mobile (Ala.)
Heart of America Athletic Conference: Lindenwood College (Mo.)
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference: Southwestern College (Kan.)
Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Midway College (Ky.)
Keystone-Empire Collegiate Conference: Houghton College (N.Y.)
Mid-Central College Conference: Huntington College (Ind.)
Mid-Ohio Conference: Rio Grande (Ohio)
Mid-South Region: Hillsdale College (Mich.)
Midwest Region: Park College (Mo.)
Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference: Concordia College (Neb.)
Northeast Region: Georgian Court College (N.J.)
Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges: University of Puget Sound (Wash.)
Pacific Northwest Athletic Conference: Simon Fraser University (B.C.)
Sooner Athletic Conference: Oklahoma Baptist University
South Dakota-Iowa Athletic Conference: Dakota State University (S.D.)
Southwest Region: Southeastern Oklahoma State University
TranSouth Athletic Conference: Berry College (Ga.)
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference: Siena Heights College (Mich.)

At-Large Berths (listed alphabetically):
Aquinas College (Mich.)
Azusa Pacific University (Calif.)
Cedarville College (Ohio)
Jamestown College (N.D.)
Malone College (Ohio)
Pacific Lutheran University (Wash.)
Phillips University (Okla.)
Spring Arbor College (Mich.)
Western Oregon University
Whitworth College (Wash.)

1997 NAIA Women’s Cross Country Final Top 25

1997 NAIA Men’s Cross Country Championship Information

News Release: Cross Country Races Toward a Champion

1997 NAIA Women’s Cross Country All-America Scholar-Athletes

For more information on the 1997 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championships contact Dave Wester of the NAIA Department of Sports Information.