WESTIFELD, Mass. – The Worcester State University women's cross country team finished 28th out of 63 teams (besting last year's 33 place finish) at the NCAA Regionals, hosted by Westfield State at Stanley Park, Saturday morning.
Sophomore Mia Rogers (N. Dighton, Mass.) paced the Lancers, placing 40th in 22:21.12 for the highest ever finish by a Worcester State runner at the NCAA regional meet.
"Mia's performance in today's meet was outstanding," commented head coach Gary Jusseaume. "The best time ever recorded by a Worcester State student for this NCAA Regional meet."
Rogers broke former Worcester State University's Erin Donahue's 23:31.05 record set back in 2012.
"Mia ran a steady paced race start to finish, albeit at a fatigue level above what she's use to running," said Jusseaume. "She ran with the lead pack of runners who set a demanding pace through the first mile."
"With another year of experience and dedicated hard work like she put forth this entire season, Mia will be one of the preeminent XC runners in New England next season," added Jusseaume.
Elisabeth Olson (Wilmington, Mass.) finished in 170th place with a course PR of 24:21.72. "Like Mia, Elisabeth pushed through a very fast first mile," said Jusseaume. "Despite a shoe that came untied at the first mile, she pushed to a three second course personal record."
Justine Murdocca (Milford, Mass.) and Laura DelleChiaie (Haverhill, Mass.) both scored course personal records today, by 40 seconds and 10 seconds respectively.
"Justine continues to impress me meet after meet with her focused intent on running a personal best. Her 40-second PR today indicative of her tenacious competitiveness," said Jusseaume. "And Laura's competitive effort gains momentum each week as she continues to train hard and run herself into shape. Laura ran a gritty race today."
Kelsey Bedard (Leominster, Mass.) ran a 25:25 time today, a 14 second PR and Emily Bumpus (Bridgewater, Mass.), despite being ill for two weeks, nailed a 15 second PR.
Katerina Lucier (Portsmouth, R.I.), who's been training as diligently as possible while coping with a serious foot injury foot, completed the team's performance with a 26:10.61.
"This has been a productive and rewarding season for this freshman-sophomore oriented cross country team," concluded Jusseaume. "Together, they've trained hard and with dedication geared toward improving their personal performances through each meet."