Boston College Athletics
Boston College
NCAA Championships
Women's Cross Country 19th at Nationals, King Earns All-American Honors
November 23, 2010 | Women's Track & Field
Nov. 23, 2010
Terre Haute, Ind. -
Senior Caroline King capped a phenomenal fall season with an All-American performance to lead the Boston College women's cross country team to its lowest score in six years - 432 points - at the NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship in Terre Haute, Ind. on Monday afternoon.
Gale force winds punished the field of 253 athletes from the onset of the meet. Runners relied heavily on drafting to conserve energy as they fought their way through a head wind through the first 900 meters and the 600 meter home stretch over the six kilometer course.
The Eagles got out early and had to navigate through tightly formed packs as runners felt out the race in brutal conditions.
Senior Hope Krause led BC for much of the race, coming through the 3K mark in 10:17. The New Canaan, Conn. native came across in 21:11 for 55th place overall, scoring second for BC.
Caroline King trailed slightly behind Krause at the midway point. Around the fourth kilometer, sitting in about 75th place, King made her move. The All-ACC member used her strong kick to finish in 20:53, earning her first All-American honor with a 30th place showing.
"It is a great honor for Caroline," head coach Randy Thomas said. "Track is her first love and she has finally learned to love cross country. It makes you wonder, if she can be a national level athlete at a sport she considers not to be her best, what can she do in a sport that is her favorite? If she can carry this forward into the track season, she is so strong, so fit and has such natural talent on the track that could be a national champion."
Having been to nationals in her previous two years, junior Jillian King brought the most experience to the Eagles heading into the meet. King was right there with her teammates at the halfway mark, but finished in 21:32 at 91st overall.
The remaining members of the Eagles squad also performed admirably in their first trip to an NCAA Championship.
"The night before I told them that there's nothing you can do to take away from what has been a great year," Thomas said. "All you can do is go out and have a great experience. I hope that you will walk away from the finish line happy with the volume of work you did."
Sophomore walk-on Elizabeth O'Brien placed fourth BC, coming in at 21:45, and enior Madeline Wallace completed the course in 22:03 as the Eagles fifth scorer.
Sophomores Elizabeth Hynes and Allison Stasiuk ran 22:39 and 22:49 respectively, but their scores were not counted towards Boston College's total.
Villanova repeated as the team champion to claim its ninth team title. Sheila Reid ran a 20:06.9 to capture the individual crown for the Wildcats. No other collegiate program has had more team (9) or individual (8) championships than Villanova.
Florida State led the Atlantic Conference, ending as the national runner-up for the second year in a row, totaling 154 points. Other ACC members were North Carolina (14th - 405 points), Duke had (17th - 416), Virginia (21st - 460) and N.C. State (24th - 487).
Out of the Northeast Region, Stony Brook led the way with 334 points for seventh place. Providence came in at ninth with 343 points and Syracuse finished in 10th with a team total of 347.
Joining King on the All-American podium were four other ACC athletes and three other Northeast Regional members.
"You finish fourth in the ACC, fourth in the region, top-20 in the country and have an All-American, that is a very, very good season and positive stepping stone for this program," Thomas observed. "I really believe that when the team left the field yesterday, they knew that they can take 19th and turn it into 9th next year. This team is young. They are very focused, bright and talented. They had to get out to NCAAs for the experience. They beat almost half the field and were genuinely happy when they left the course. The future is very bright."
"It's all about the kids and them having a positive experience," Thomas added.
To view the complete list of NCAA Cross Country All-Americans, please visit USTFCCCA.org.
NCAA Team Finishes
1. 120 Villanova (20:39; 1:43:14)
2. 154 Florida State (20:47; 1:43:54)
3. 165 Texas Tech (20:49; 1:44:05)
4. 167 Georgetown (20:48; 1:43:59)
5. 227 New Mexico (21:00; 1:44:58)
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17. 416 Duke (21:26; 1:47:09)
17. 416 Texas (21:27; 1:47:15)
19. 432 Boston College (21:29 1:47:24)
20. 441 Texas (21:39; 1:47:21)
2010 NCAA Champion
1. Sheila Reid Villanova - 20:06.9
BC Individual Times
30. Caroline King - 20:53
55. Hope Krause - 21:11
91. Jillian King - 21:32
117. Elizabeth O'Brien - 21:45
139. Madeline Wallace - 22:03
182. Elizabeth Hynes - 22:39
190. Allison Stasiuk - 22:49
Boston College NCAA Championship Finishes
2010 - 19 of 31, 432 points
2008 - 27 of 31, 651 points
2007 - 30 of 31, 580 points
2006 - 30 of 31, 661 points
2005 - 18 of 31, 432 points
2001 - 6 of 31, 232 points
2000 - 4 of 31, 214 points
1999 - 28 of 31, 622 points
1997 - 9 of 22, 240 points
1996 - 12 of 22, 289 points
1995 - 21 of 22, 479 points
1994 - 21 of 22, 500 points
1991 - 19 of 22, 425 points
1985 - 12 of 16, 284 points
1984 - 16 of 16, 343 points
