Lincoln Memorial earns trip to NCAA Women’s Cross Country National Championship

Wingate, N.C.--The North Carolina Central University women's cross country team became the first CIAA and HBCU school to win an NCAA Division II regional meet Saturday morning, taking the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional cross country championship at the Wingate University cross country facility.

In the women's 6K race, N.C. Central had five runners in the top 20 to take the team win. The Eagles posted 61 points, easily outdistancing South Atlantic Conference member Lincoln Memorial University by 53 points. The Railsplitters compiled 114 points. N.C. Central head coach Michael Lawson was named Southeast Region Coach of the Year following the meet.

Both N.C. Central and LMU will make their first appearances at the NCAA Nationals. The 2006 national meet will be held Saturday, November 18 in Pensacola, Fla. (hosted by the University of West Florida) during the NCAA Division II Fall Festival.

CIAA Runner of the Year freshman Ashley Cooke led NCCU by placing fifth with a 6K time of 23:57. It was a team effort for the Eagles, as junior Yolanda Barber (eighth, 24:18), senior Aisha Brown (14th, 24:31), sophomore LaTanya Lesine (15th, 24:32) and freshman Desinia Johnson (19th, 24:49) all finished in the top 20.

Four individuals will join N.C. Central and LMU in Pensacola for the NCAA National meet. Carson-Newman College sophomore Aubrey Morris won the 6K race with a winning time of 23:17. Wingate University sophomore Amber Hines was second with a 23:38 clocking. Hines was the 2006 SAC Runner of the Year.

Mars Hill College senior Kate Prichard was third with a time of 23:43, while Lees-McRae freshman Dana Lindholm placed fourth with a 23:49 clocking. Lindholm was the CVAC Freshman of the Year in 2006. Morris, Hines and Lindholm will make their first trips to a national meet in two weeks.

The top 15 finishers earned All-Southeast Region honors. North Carolina Central led the way with four runners (Cooke, Barber, Brown and Lesine) on the All-Region team. Mars Hill and Anderson University placed two runners each on the All-Region teams.

Mars Hill junior Keely Hollahan joined Prichard on the honor squad, as she placed seventh with a posting of 24:17. Anderson senior Kasey Harold (sixth, 24:12) and junior Jennifer Hitt (12th, 24:29) both earned spots on the All-Region team. On the same Wingate course, Hitt qualified for the nationals in both 2004 and 2005.

All total, 127 women completed the 6K race. After N.C. Central and Lincoln Memorial, the top five teams were Mars Hill (third, 123 points), Anderson (fourth, 143 points) and Wingate (fifth, 154 points).

For the host Wingate University Bulldogs, sophomore Ashley Hubbard placed 26th with a time of 25:20. Freshman Mary Kathryn Preble was 32nd with a 25:34 clocking.

Race results