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Victoria Mitchell Places Fourth At NCAA Cross Country Championship
Nov. 21, 2005
Butler's Victoria Mitchell closed out a brilliant collegiate career with a fourth place individual finish at the 2005 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind., on Monday, Nov. 21. The Butler women's cross country team placed 24th in the national meet, while Butler's men came in 25th. Mitchell, running in her first NCAA cross country national meet, earned All-America honors with her fourth place finish. She covered the 6,000 meter course in 19:50.4 and finished just two seconds behind third place finisher Stephanie Madia of Notre Dame. Johanna Nilsson of Northern Arizona captured the individual crown with a time of 19:33.9, while Columbia's Caroline Bierbaum finished runner-up in 19:36. The NCAA national meet was the final collegiate competition for Mitchell, who will complete her graduate degree at Butler in December. Mitchell won a collegiate national title in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championship last spring. She's a two-time Horizon League cross country individual champion. Butler's women notched their highest national finish ever. Junior Jenni Pereira finished second behind Mitchell and 45th overall with a time of 20:50, while junior Ava Hutchinson came in 115th in 21:36. Junior Kara Henry was 181st in 22:24 and senior Katie Stuckey came in 186th in 22:28. Rounding out the Butler squad were sophomore Genni Gardner, who placed 188th in 22:31, and junior Maria Beitel, who came in 210th in 23:26.
In the men's race, junior Andy Rayner covered the 10,000 meter course in 30:30 and paced the Bulldogs, while placing 35th overall. Senior Scott Overall was the second Butler runner across the finish line, placing 49th in 30:41. Junior Alex Hains came in 100th in 31:17, junior Andrew Toward was 173rd in 31:59, and senior Nick Goodliffe was 174th in 32:02. Butler's final two runners were junior Chris Smith, who finished 207th in 33:04, and freshman Bryan Phillips, who came in 210th in 33:31. Stanford won the women's team title, while Colorado finished runner-up. Wisconsin, placing five runners among the top 15 individuals, ran away with the men's team championship, 68 points ahead of runner-up Arkansas. Simon Bairu of Wisconsin won the individual crown in 29:16. |
