By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

HIGHLAND HILLS, OHIO -- Willamette University junior runner Tina Patel (Bend, OR/Summit HS) finished 92nd out of 279 runners at the NCAA Division III National Championships at the Highland Park Golf Course on Saturday, Nov. 21. The winner of the 6-kilometer race was Wendy Pavlus from St. Lawrence University (N.Y.) with a time of 21:28.0.

WOMEN'S RESULTS

Pavlus won by 17.8 seconds. Second place went to Marie Borner of Bethel University (Minn.), who completed the course in 21:45.8. A total of six runners crossed the finish line in under 22 minutes.

The Top 35 runners were clocked in at 22:51.6 or faster. The top result for a runner from the Northwest Conference was earned by Marci Klimek of Linfield, the NWC individual champion, who took 17th in Saturday's race at 22.32.6. Patel finished the race in 23:32.7.

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire won the women's team championship with a score of 171. St. Lawrence finished in second place at 180, while Calvin College (Mich.) was third at 195. Whitworth University from the Northwest Conference placed sixth.

Patel was the only runner for the Willamette women's cross country team at the National Championships. The Bearcats did not receive a team score. Patel earned an individual at-large bid to the championships after placing ninth at the West Regional on Nov. 14.

NOTE: A correction to the official results added a runner at 27th in the individual standings. All runners finishing after her dropped one position.