By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, Ore. -- After winning the West Regional Championship and moving up to #7 in the final NCAA Division III Coaches' Poll, the Willamette University women's cross country team is ready to compete at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Winneconne, Wisconsin. The championship meet will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Lake Breeze Golf Course.

The 6-kilometer women's championship race will begin the day at 11 a.m. CST/9 a.m. PST. The 8-kilometer men's championship race is set for 12 p.m. CST/10 a.m. PST.

A total of 32 teams and approximately 280 runners will compete for the women's team and individual titles. Willamette placed 15th at the 2014 NCAA Championships.

Running for the Bearcats this year will be Olivia Mancl (Jr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS), Taylor Ostrander (Sr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS), Hannah Swanson (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS), Juliet Farnan (Sr., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS), Ami Boucher (Jr., Concord, CA/Northgate HS), Hannah Bressler (Sr., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS), and Hazel Carr (Fr., Seattle, Wa/The Northwest School).

Mancl placed second at the NCAA West Regional on Nov. 14 in 21:46.32 and Ostrander took third with a time of 21:50.84. Swanson was 18th at 22:47.22, with Farnan in 20th place at 22:48.93 and Boucher in 21st at 22:56.21. Bressler placed 24th in 22:59.85. Those six Bearcats earned All-West Region honors.

Willamettte took second place in the women's team standings at the NWC Championships on Oct. 31. Mancl won the women's individual championships and Ostrander placed second.

At last year's NCAA Championships, Mancl finished in 48th place. Ostrander took 64th.

The top five teams in the final NCAA Division III Coaches Poll are will provide strong opposition this weekend. Johns Hopkins University (Md.) is ranked #1. Williams College (Mass.) is ranked #2, with Washington University (Mo.) at #3 and Tufts University (Mass.) at #4. Middlebury College (Vt.) is listed at #5. Johns Hopkins is seeking its fourth straight NCAA women's cross country title.

Willamette isn't far behind the top 5. SUNY Geneseo (N.Y.) is ranked #6 and Willamette follows at #7. Rounding out the top 10 are Massachusetts Institute of Technology at #8, SUNY Oneonta (N.Y.) at #9 and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) at #10.

All eight Regional team champions and runners-up received automatic bids to the NCAA Championships. The Regional champions are:

Atlantic:  SUNY Geneseo (N.Y.)
Central:  University of St. Thomas (Minn.)
Great Lakes:  Hope College (Mich.)
Mideast:  Johns Hopkins University (Md.)
Midwest:  Washingotn University (Mo.)
New England:  Williams College (Mass.)
South/Southeast:  Emory University (Ga.)
West:  Willamette University