CMS Staff Wins SCIAC Women's Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year Honor

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Head Coach John Goldhammer and assistant coaches Emily Ramey-Root and Megumi Abe were named the 2018 SCIAC Women's Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year, the league office announced today.

Goldhammer and staff earn the honor for the second straight season after coaching the Athenas to their ninth straight conference championship. CMS went into the SCIACs as the second-ranked team in the region behind Pomona-Pitzer, but used their depth to win the crown by 22 points. CMS had eight of the top 16 runners in the field to finish with 34 points, beating out Pomona-Pitzer (56 points), despite the Sagehens ending with the top two individual finishers in the race. 

It also marked the 21st time in the last 24 years that Goldhammer has coaches the Athenas to the SCIAC crown. In his 34 seasons as the head coach, CMS has won the women's cross country title 25 times. 

Nine members of the women's cross country team also officially received their All-SCIAC accolades for their top-20 finishes at the SCIACs. Earning first-team honors for coming in the top 10 were sophomore Abigale Johnson (fourth), senior Malea Martin (fifth), senior Natalie Marsh (sixth) and sophomore Dulcie Jones (eighth - pictured). 

The Athenas also had five second-team selections, led by junior Georgia Scherer, who was the fifth scorer for the team in 11th place. Two freshmen also earned their way onto the All-SCIAC second team in their rookie seasons: Riley Harmon (12th) and Sophie Gitlin (16th), while senior Matilda Msall (14th) and sophomore Jackie McVay (19th). 

The CMS women's cross country team will be back in action next weekend when it travels to compete in the NCAA West Regionals, hosted by Whitman, in Walla Walla, Washington.