Webster Women Edge Principia to Claim First Conference Title in Program History
Hillsboro, Ill. – The Webster University women's cross country team finished with a five point advantage over defending champion Principia College to win the 2011 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Cross Country Championship held at Hillsboro Country Club and Park District in Hillsboro, Ill. It marks the first SLIAC women's cross country title in program history for the Gorloks.
Webster had four runners finish in the top 10 and was led by sophomore Julie Greenough in fourth place with a time of 24:27 on the 6K course. Sophomore Heather Heisse (24:35), junior Jane McKibben (24:36) and sophomore Eroica Stackhouse (24:38) placed sixth, seventh and eighth respectively, while freshman Kassandra Ochoa rounded out the Gorloks scoring with a 15 points and a 17th place finish overall.
Greenough, Heisse and McKibben all earned First Team All-SLIAC for their performances, while Stackhouse was Second Team All-SLIAC for the second consecutive year. Webster head coach Dusty Lopez was also named the SLIAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year for guiding his team to their first ever Championship.
Principia College's Casey Powell earned SLIAC Runner of the Year and First Team All-SLIAC honors for winning the individual title. She placed first out of 48 runners competing and posted the fastest time this season among the SLIAC women with 23:08 on the 6K course. Also earning First Team All-SLIAC honors from Principia was freshman Sarah Litwiller, who placed fifth overall with a time of 24:33. Litwiller was also chosen as the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year.
Principia sophomore Emily Osborne earned Second Team All-SLIAC after running a time of 25:21 for a 13th place finish.
Westminster College had three runners earn All-Conference this year. Sophomore Sarah Koestner placed second overall with a time of 23:32 to be named First Team All-SLIAC. Junior Kaily Downey and freshman Anna West recorded times of 24:46 and 24:56 respectively to place 10th and 11th overall and earn Second Team All-SLIAC.
Fontbonne University and Spalding University each placed two runners on the All-Conference teams. Fontbonne's Alyssa Tonner, a sophomore, was named First Team All-SLIAC after her third place finish with a time of 24:09. Teammate Marielle Counts, also a sophomore, earned Second Team honors with a ninth place finish and a time of 24:41. Spalding freshman Janika King and sophomore Samantha Cave both were named Second Team All-Conference. King finished 12th overall with a time of 25:04, while Cave placed 14th with a time of 25:24.
Webster finished with a team total of 40 points, edging Principia by just five and recording 35 less points than Fontbonne University in third place with 75 points. Westminster College (Mo.) placed fourth in the team standings with 90 points, while Greenville College and Eureka College rounded out the team scoring with 103 and 155 points respectively..
Other awards announced during the All-Star Trophy Awards Ceremony following the race were the 2011 All-Sportsmanship Team and Greenville College as the Sportsmanship Award winner. It marks the third time since the award's inception in 2006 that the Panthers have won the honor.
The following individuals were named to the 2011 SLIAC All-Sportsmanship Team for women's cross country, as selected by the league coaches. Junior April Corcoran (Blackburn), senior Meghan Campbell (Eureka), senior Anne Marx (Fontbonne), sophomore Rosie Nelson (Greenville), sophomore Samantha Cave (Spalding), senior Maegan Brewer (Principia), sophomore Heather Heisse (Webster) and freshman Anna West (Westminster).
