The University of Redlands women's and men's cross country teams competed in top-tier form as they dazzled at the 2019 NCAA Division III West Region Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning in Claremont. The women claimed fourth place, the highest women's finish at Regionals ever, with 132 points and an average time of 23:29 in the 6k. The men took the sixth spot with 175 points and an average 8k-time of 26:50.
Senior Maria Ramirez (Orange, CA) led the Bulldogs, taking fifth-place and All-Region honors, crossing the finish line in 22:33.4. She shaved about five seconds off of her last year's Regional time. With her stellar finish, Ramirez lands an automatic qualifying bid to Nationals.
Sophomore Isabella Glenn (Seattle, WA) was the next to cross the line for the Maroon and Gray in 17th with a time of 23:13.3 and a 6:13.7 average mile time. She dominated her mark of 23:40.0 at last year's race. Senior Carly Veasy (Camas, WA) was paced well by Glenn, as she finished just over 10 seconds later in 22nd with a time of 23:24.7. She substantially improved upon her time from her last Regional appearance in 2017. Glenn and Veasy also earn All-Region honors with their top-35 finishes.
Senior Sarah Shipway (Lafayette, CA) ran her fastest Regional time with a 24:05.7 race and an average time of 6:27.7, while sophomore Alexis Wallace (Bend, OR) rounded out the top-five Redlands finishers with her fastest time at Regionals at 24:19.5.
For the men, junior Tucker Cargile (Denver, CO) was less than three seconds away from a top finish with an impressive second-place time of 25:14.5. Cargile's second-place finish ties the record for Redlands highest individual finish at Regionals, the last being in 1989. He also earns an automatic bid to Nationals.
First-year Enrique Verschoor (Mar del Plata, Argentina) made his Regional debut with a 25th-place time of 26:20.7. Vershoor takes home his first All-Region nod with a top-35 finish. Junior Matthew Casey (Highland Park, IL), followed Vershoor, crossing the line in 46th with a time of 27:18.9.
Sophomore Miguel Fausto (Whittier, CA) finished his first West Regional race with an average mile of 5:33.4 and an overall time of 27:37.2 for 56th. Junior Quentin Olive-Larson (Fort Collins, CO) rounded out the top-five for the Maroon and Gray with his fastest Regional time of 28:00.6 in 68th place.
Ramirez and Cargile look forward to competing at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, November 23, at 8 a.m. Other members of the Bulldogs could receive a bid to Nationals with the official announcement being released on Sunday, November 17.