Nov. 24, 2008

Individual Results

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Ohio juniors Annie Beecham and Kari Summers closed a stellar cross country season with 81st and 111th-place finishes at the NCAA National Championships, respectively, on Monday afternoon. Beecham ran a time of 21:02.8, breaking her own mark for the second-best 6k time in school history. Summers ran the course in 21:16.8, the sixth-best time in school history. There were a total of 252 runners in the meet that was hosted by Indiana State University.

"They both ran well," commented head coach Clay Calkins. "They did respectably compared to other runners from our region. They had a fantastic year and ended with a solid day today. This will prepare them for next year, showing them what to expect, because this race is different from any other," said Calkins. "We couldn't have asked any more of them. They did the best they could today in tough conditions."

The pair earned berths in the meet thanks to strong performances at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 15, hosted by Purdue University. Summers ran what was then the fourth-best 6k time in school history, a 21:16.3, to place fifth, while Beecham finished seventh with a time of 21:23.5.

Beecham (Granville, Ohio) and Summers (Troy, Ohio) were the first Ohio women's cross country representatives in the National meet since 1998, when All-American and Ohio Hall of Fame inductee Jackie Conrad and Academic All-American Melissa Converse qualified for the Bobcats.

Breaking records has been a theme this season, as Beecham won the individual Mid-American Conference championship with a MAC and school-record mark in the 5k of 16:56.8. Summers followed right behind with a runner-up finish, as she ran the third-best 5k time in school history.

Both runners earned first-team All-MAC honors, the second-consecutive year for Beecham and third-consecutive time for Summers. Beecham became only the third women's cross country runner in school history to claim a MAC crown, as Jackie Conrad won in 1996 and 1998 and Carime Reinhart brought home the title in 2006.

Texas Tech's Sally Kipyego won her third-consecutive individual NCAA title, an NCAA record. The Washington Huskies captured the team championship, followed by Oregon, Florida State, West Virginia and Princeton, who rounded out the top five.