Marquette Women's Cross Country Team Finishes Third at NCAA Great Lakes Region Championships

Golden Eagles Await Possible NCAA At-Large Bid

MILWAUKEE -- The Marquette University women's cross country team, ranked 21st in the nation, turned in a strong effort at the NCAA Great Lakes Region Championships this afternoon, posting a third-place finish out of 31 teams. The 6k event was held at the Eagle Crest Golf Club in Ypsilanti, Mich., and was hosted by Eastern Michigan. Wisconsin claimed first place with 65 points and was followed by Michigan with 113 points. Marquette recorded 146 points and Indiana (175 pts.) and Michigan State (222 pts.) rounded out the top five finishers.

Marquette runners claimed three spots among the top 30 individual finishers and was led by sophomore Susan Barth (Bluffton, Ind.) who finished 11th overall out of 217 runners with a time of 21:10.5. Junior Bethany Harry (Forty-Fort, Penn.) registered a 17th-place showing with a mark of 21:39.0. Senior Erika Jacobson (Sister Bay, Wis.) claimed 27th position in a time of 22:02.1. Rounding out the Marquette scorers were freshmen Brianna Dahm (Two Rivers, Wis.) in 43rd position (22:17.3) and Audrey Schiltz (West Des Moines, Iowa) in the 48th spot (22:21.0). Taking home first-place honors was Erica Palmer of Wisconsin (20:17.1) while Tuula Laitinen of Toledo was runner-up (20:32.6).

Marquette's finish, along with its national ranking, makes it a strong candidate to garner an at-large bid the NCAA Championships held Nov. 20 at Ames, Iowa. The top two finishers in the nine regions across the country gain automatic bids to the nationals while 13 squads earn at-large nods to the 31-team field. The at-large bids will be made on Monday afternoon and in the event that Marquette is selected, it would represent the program's first-ever spot to the national championships.

2000 Great Lakes Region Women's Cross Country Championships Team Standings -- 31 teams
1. Wisconsin 65 pts; 2. Michigan 113 pts; 3. Marquette 146 pts; 4. Indiana 175 pts; 5. Michigan State 222 pts; 6. Toledo 224 pts; 7. Central Michigan 237 pts; 8. Notre Dame 272 pts; 9. Eastern Michigan 282 pts; 10. Ball State 301 pts.; 11. Akron 320 pts; 12. Purdue 330 pts; 13. Bowling Green State 332 pts; 14. Kent State 345 pts; 15. Miami University 376 pts; 16. Ohio State 407 pts; 17. Ohio 414 pts; 18. Western Michigan 425 pts; 19. Indiana State 440 pts; 20. Butler 473 pts; 21. Detroit 479 pts; 22. Dayton 484 pts; 23. Wisconsin-Milwaukee 519 pts; 24. Oakland 648 pts; 25. Xavier 690 pts; 26. Valparaiso 695 pts; 27. Wright State 715 pts; 28. Wisconsin-Green Bay 793 pts; 29. Youngstown State 825 pts; 30. Indiana/Purdue-Indianapolis 847 pts; 31. Evansville 998.

2000 NCAA Great Lakes Region Women's Cross Country Championship Individual Standings (6k) -- 217 runners
1. Erica Palmer (Wisconsin) 20:17.1; 11. Susan Barth (Marquette) 21:10.5; 17. Bethany Harry (Marquette) 21:39.0; 27. Erika Jacobson (Marquette) 22:02.1; 43. Brianna Dahm (Marquette) 22:17.3; 48. Audrey Schilitz (Marquette) 22:21.0; 60. Jessie Swan (Marquette) 22:30.3