By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Olivia Mancl (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette University earned All-America honors for the second consecutive year, as she placed 13th in the women's 6-kilometer race at the 2016 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships at Sawyer State Park on Saturday, Nov. 19. Mancl recorded a time of 20:59.8, just six seconds off her career-best time.
In the men's 8-kilometer race, Willamette's Patrick Loftus (Jr., Healdsburg, CA/Sonoma Academy) took 111th place. He completed the course in a personal record time of 25:27.9. His previous top time was 25:28.1 at the 2014 Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational.
Loftus and Mancl received individual bids to paticipate in the NCAA Championships. A total of 280 runners competed in the women's race, with 278 runners in the men's race. The top 35 finishers in each race earned All-America recognition.
Mancl previously received All-America honors after placing second at the 2015 NCAA Championships. She has won two Northwest Conference individual titles. She placed second in the West Region last year and this year.
On Saturday, the women's race was won by senior Amy Regan from Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.) with a time of 20:16.4. Regan, who also won the 2014 NCAA title, did not compete in 2015.
Audrey Miller of Loras College (Iowa) placed second in 20:31.2. Maya Weigel of Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.), who won the West Regional last weekend, took third place at 20:41.3. Erin Hermann of Hope College (Mich.) claimed fourth place in 20:51.1, as she edged out Sarah Fowler from Ohio Wesleyan University, who also earned a time of 20:51.1 for fifth place.
Serena Gale-Butto of Centre College (Ky.) was sixth in 20:51.8. Abrah Masterson from Cornell College (Iowa), the defending national champion, placed seventh in 20:52.3.
The top two finishers from the NWC were Kayla Leland of Whitworth University and Mancl. Leland achieved 12th place in 20:57.1. She helped Whitworth earn 17th place in the team standings.
Johns Hopkins University (Md.) won the women's team championship with a score of 128 (17-20-21-33-37). Washington University (Mo.) was second at 202 and SUNY Geneseo (N.Y.) placed third at 214. Williams College (Mass.) took fourth place at 232 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology was fifth at 234. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) was the top West Region team in 15th place.
Ian LaMere from University of Wisconsin-Platteville earned his second consecutive national title in the men's race. He recorded a time of 23:40.4 to win by 28.6 seconds. Ernie Pitone from Widender University (Pa.) grabbed second place in 24:09.0, while Tim Nichols of Tufts University (Mass.) placed third at 24:09.7.
Isaac Garcia-Cassani from SUNY Geneseo achieved fourth place with a time of 24:18.0. He was followed by Dan Cheung of Allegheny Collee (Pa.) in fifth place at 24:18.9. Darin Lau from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was sixth at 24:22.9. Matt Deyo of Massachusetts Institute of Technology placed seventh in 24:28.1.
The top runner from the NWC was Brad Hockinson from Pacific Lutheran University in 35th place. Hockinson, who won the NWC and West Region individual championships earlier this month, recorded a time of 24:55.9 on Saturday. Loftus was the second NWC finisher. Liam Monheim from Lewis & Clark College was the third NWC runner to reach the finish line. Monheim placed 113th.
North Central College (Ill.) claimed the men's team title with a score of 60 as all of the Cardinals' top five runners finished in the top 20 (6-10-13-14-17). SUNY Geneseo took second place at 204 and UW-Eau Claire garnered third place at 209. Washington (Mo.) was fourth at 216. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) was the West Region's top team in fifth place at 251.
Other West Region teams were Pomona-Pitzer in 17th place, Whittier College in 23rd place and Occidental College in 31st place.
