Best in the West! Athenas, McKillop Claim Regional Titles

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The No. 6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's cross country team won their first NCAA West Regional Title since 2013 with a victory at the Regional this morning. The Athenas finished with 58 team points, 51 points ahead of the second-place Whitworth Pirates (109 points). Bryn McKillop (SC) dominated the field to claim the individual title with a time of 21:07.51. McKillop finished over 20 second ahead of second-place finisher Lauren Hamilton from Pomona-Pitzer (21:28.09).

Abigale Johnson (SC) joined McKillop in the top-10 with a ninth-place finish with a time of 22:08.36.

Running in a pack all morning long was the group of Ellen Berkley (CMC), Roselyn Cantu (CMC), and Malea Martin (CMC). The trio finished within four seconds of each other and crossed the finish line consecutively in 15th, 16th, and 17th. Berkley led the pack with a time of 22:30.73, just seconds behind her was Cantu who crossed in 22:32.42. Martin followed, finishing the 6K race in 22:34.24.

Dulcie Jones (SC) and Kyleigh Mann (CMC) displaced points for the Athenas finishing in 31st and 36th respectively. Jones finished in 23:04.23, while Mann was ten seconds behind her at 23:15.30.

With the victory in the Regional, the Athenas automatically qualify the National Championships in St. Louis, Mo. next weekend. The rest of the field for the Championships will be released on Sunday afternoon.

Check CMSathletics.org later this week for a preview of the National Championship meet.