Meet Information
Race:  NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional - 6K
Location: Holland, Mich. - Hope College
Short Story: Claire Walters placed second to punch her ticket to the NCAA National Championship next weekend.

Race Highlights
The Franciscan Women's Cross Country team competed in Holland, Michigan on Saturday in cold and snowy conditions for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. There were 42 teams present for a total field of 245 runners trying to qualify for the NCAA National Championship next weekend. Franciscan had to start out of the 39th box, but that was not a problem for Claire Walters to work her way to the front of the pack early.

At the 4K checkpoint she was in second place, and she would hold on to place second with a time of 21:13.8 in the 6K race. Her time is a new program record for Franciscan, which she broke once earlier this season. Her second place finish is the best by a Baron in a NCAA Regional Meet, as she bested Grace Galligan's 6th place finish in 2018.With that time Walters earned a spot in the NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championship next week. This will be the fourth time in Franciscan Women's Cross Country history that a runner has qualified, and it is back to back season's, as Alison Bryant just made the trip last season. 

Jessica Campbell and Rachel Hurley were the next two runners to finish, as they did so within a second of each other. Both of them improved their placement from last season in the Regional meet, and Hurley set a new personal best time for a 6K race. Allison Sommer set a new personal best time as well in her final collegiate race, as she placed 153rd. Angelina Toole rounded out the top five runners for Franciscan with a 209th place finish. 

That would give Franciscan 560 team points to place 18th. John Carroll led the way with 81 team points to secure the team title. Allegheny, the only other PAC school in the region, placed 7th with a very strong team effort. 

Baron Top Finishers (By Overall Place)
2nd    Claire Walters            21:13.8
109th Jessica Campbell      24:10.3
113th  Rachel Hurley           24:11.4
153rd Allison Sommer         25:06.6
209th  Angelina Toole          26:50.6
242nd Sofia Lawson            29:07.9

Up Next
Franciscan will make the trip back to Michigan next weekend for the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country National Championship on Saturday November 19th. This will be a slightly shorter trip than this weekend, as they will running in East Lansing, Michigan. Claire Walters will be the lone Franciscan runner with the race to start at 11 a.m. The race will be live streamed on NCAA.com, which can be viewed here.

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