Women’s Cross Country Finishes Strong At NCAA Regionals

MT. MORRIS, N.Y. – The Wells College women's cross country team, competing at the NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional Cross Country Championships for the first time in school history, placed 32nd overall out of 38 teams at Letchworth State Park on Saturday. Racing as an individual from the men's cross country team at Wells, junior Paul Hernon (New Hartford, N.Y.) placed 216th in the field of 275 runners with a time of 29:43.2.

Wells was led by junior Emily Middlebrook (Newark, N.Y.) and her time of 23:41.5 across the 6K course, placing 106th amongst the field of 269 participants from 42 different schools. Middlebrook wraps up her three-year career with the Express having placed first for the team in 23-straight races dating back to the Wildcat Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 3, 2011.

A two-time North Eastern Athletic Conference runner of the year, Middlebrook was a three-time winner of First Team All-Conference honors. Middlebrook was also tabbed as the league's Rookie of the Year in 2011 and was the College's Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2012. She will graduate next semester a full year early with a degree in History and a minor in Political Science.

Freshman Deaven Theriault (Ludlow, Mass.) placed 196th amongst the field, completing the course with a time of 25:14.8. Sophomore Katie Lamanna (Constableville, N.Y.) did not finish far behind, clocking in with a time of 25:54.6 to place 213th amongst the field.

Junior Anastasia Benson (Rockford, Ill.) finished fourth for Wells, placing 246th with a time of 28:03.3 while freshman Jenn VanWormer (Phoenix, N.Y.) rounded out the Wells runners at 255th place (29:33.1). Benson was the lone Wells student-athlete to set a personal best time across a 6K course while Lamanna bested her 2012 time at regionals (27:45.2).