CLAREMONT, Calif. -- Colorado College's Elliot Singer and University of Dallas' Anna Wilgenbusch both posted top 10 finishes at the NCAA Division III Region 10 meet Saturday morning and qualified for next weekend's national championship meet. Results
Singer, who claimed both SCAC Runner and Newcomer-of-the-Year honors at last month's conference championship meet, finished in fifth place in the 150-runner field, crossing the finish line in a time of 22:10.6. Saturday's 6K was run on the Pomona Pitzer campus course. Wilgenbusch, the league's Runner-of-the-Year in 2019, placed 10th in a time of 22:28.9.
Both Singer, a freshman, and Wilgenbusch, a senior - as top seven finishers outside of the winning team's individuals - qualify for next weekend's national championship meet, which will be held November 20 and run on the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park course in Louisville, Ky.
Wilgenbusch earned both all-Region and all-American honors for her performances during the 2019 post-season.
The 29th-ranked Colorado College women posted a strong third-place finish with 132 points, and will be the second team on the board from Region X, behind Pomona-Pitzer, when at-large bids are determined on Sunday. Trinity University finished in sixth place with a team score of 171. Dallas and Texas Lutheran University had individuals compete but not enough to post a team score.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, whose runners occupied four of the top six spots, finished in first place with a team score of 27.
Following Singer, other CC runners placing in the top 50 include junior Kendall Accetta, who was 22nd in a time of 23:07.1, junior Claire Quinn, who finished in 26th place in a time of 23:16.0, senior Megan Koch, who was 36th in a time of 23:31.5 and first-year Sydney Rankin, who finished 47th in a time of 23:45.6. Rounding out the Colorado College contingent was junior Lily Brazil in 77th place (24:37.1) and junior Dafna Williams in 80th place (24:41.0).
The Trinity women were led by senior Abby Blackwood, who finished in 14th place in a time of 22:40.1 and junior Elaine Kaster, who followed in 18th place in a time of 22:54.8. Three more Tigers finished in the top 50, including sophomore Madison Habeck (45th place - 23:43.8), junior Anna King (49th place - 23:46.6) and sophomore Ellie Catrong (50th place - 23:55.4). Senior Ardi Saunders finished in 70th place for the Tigers (24:29.2) and junior Paige Tangney was 117th (25:56.6).
Singer, Wilgenbusch, Accetta, Quinn, Blackwood and Kaster each earned all-Region accolades for finishing among the top 35 runners.
Wilgenbusch was Dallas' only participant, but Texas Lutheran did bring three runners - led by first-year Kristin Lucero who finished in 65th place with a time of 24:24.2. Junior Mackenzie Payne was 86th in a time of 24:56.8 and sophomore Caeli Taylor rounded out the Bulldog contingent with a 94th place finish in a time of 25:14.3.
A total of 32 teams will compete as a team at the NCAA Division III Championships, with the top finishing team from each of the 10 regions receiving an automatic bid and 22 bids awarded to at-large teams. In addition, 70 individuals, not on qualifying teams, earn automatic selection based on their finish at the regional.