SATURDAY’S RESULTS: HERE
Closing out a historic season, the No. 12-ranked Vanderbilt women’s cross country team finished 28th at the NCAA Championships on Saturday at the Wasbash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Indiana.
The race represented the fourth straight appearance in the Championships for the Commodores, who captured the NCAA South Region title last week for the first time in the program’s history.
“Today was a tough day,” said head coach Steve Keith, “but it certainly doesn’t detract from the things we’ve accomplished this season. We’ve had a fantastic year, and have something we can really build on. We are a young program, and we are still learning how to follow through in terms of the success we had going into the race.”
Michigan State won the NCAA title with 85 points, followed by Iowa State (147) and New Mexico (188). Kate Avery, of Iona, was the individual champion with a time of 19:31.60.
Sophomore Carmen Carlos was the Commodores’ top finisher, posting a time of 21:16.60. Two Vanderbilt seniors — Claire Benjamin and Amira Joseph — were the next two Commodores across the line. Benjamin finished at 21:43.30 and Joseph, who was competing at nationals for the fourth consecutive year, posted a time of 21:43.30.
Junior Sara Barron (21.44.20) and senior Rebecca Chandler (21:47.10) rounded out the top-5 for the Commodores. Also representing Vanderbilt were: senior Katherine Delaney (21:50.30) and junior Vanessa Valentine (22:38.30).
“I am very proud of our team, and very proud of the season we have had,” said assistant coach Rhonda Riley. “The girls have fought hard all year to get here. Today was a good learning experience. And to finish 28th in the country — out of the 300 or so schools that have cross country teams — is a big accomplishment.”
Saturday was the final career race for Vanderbilt’s seniors, who played a huge role in helping the program develop into a national force over the past few seasons.
“I am really proud of our seniors,” said Keith. “They went out well today, and they have meant so much to our program.”
The Commodores came into the race looking to add another entry to their historic postseason run. The surge included knocking off four-time defending region champion Florida State by one point at last week’s South Region race, along with a second-place finish at the SEC Championships that marked the second-highest finish in program history (ranking behind only Vanderbilt’s 2011 SEC Champion team).
But the momentum didn’t spill over into Saturday as much as the Commodores had hoped.
“The margin of error at this race is very slim,” said Keith, “and that’s the lesson that we will take from today. We weren’t able to get out in the 2K, and we needed to be a little more aggressive. In this setting, you have to have your own GPS in your mind in terms of where you are in the field. But that’s just part of the learning process.”
Vanderbilt will take away plenty of highlights from the 2014-15 season, including tying for ninth place at the adidas Invitational in Wisconsin by finishing in front of 10 teams that were ranked ahead of them in the USTFCCCA poll. Also, the Commodores captured titles at the Belmont Opener and the Commodore Classic, and finished eighth at the Roy Griak Invitational while setting the stage for the impressive postseason run.
Keith said the team’s fourth straight appearance in the Championships was another huge step in the right direction for a program that had never qualified for nationals before 2011.
“We will use this season as another stepping stone in the process,” said Keith, “and pick up here next season.”
VANDERBILT RESULTS
113 Carmen Carlos SO 21:16.6
127 Claire Benjamin SR 21:24.7
173 Amira Joseph SR 21:43.3
175 Sara Barron JR 21:44.2
182 Rebecca Chandler SR 21:47.1
190 Katherine Delaney JR 21:50.3
233 Vanessa Valentine JR 22:38.3
