W&L Women’s Cross Country Wins Third Straight ODAC Title

By Washington and Lee University
November 7, 2017

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — With five runners finishing in the Top 10, the Washington and Lee women’s cross country team claimed its third straight ODAC title on Saturday at the 2017 ODAC Championship at Virginia Wesleyan.

The Generals took the top spot out of 12 teams with 34 points to record the 17th ODAC title in program history. It is the lowest point total for the Blue and White since scoring 29 points at the 2012 meet. Lynchburg was a distant second on Saturday with 74 points and Eastern Mennonite finished third (85 points).

Junior Kirsten McMichael (Eighty Four, Pa./Ringgold) led W&L with a third-place finish in the 6k race out of 78 runners. She completed the extremely fast and flat course in 22:16.79. Sophomore Julia Moody (Houston, Texas/St. John’s School) took sixth overall in 22:23.12, and first-year Anna Nelson (Arvada, Colo./Standley Lake) claimed seventh (22:25.17).

McMichael, Moody and Nelson all earned First Team All-ODAC accolades for their finishes in the race. This is the first time any of the three runners have made the first team.

Coming in just a split second behind Nelson was first-year Hannah Dieterle (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) in eighth place with a time of 22:25.96. First-year Katie Harris (Ashburn, Va./Rock Ridge) completed the scoring for the Generals in 10th (22:35.90).

Sophomore Katie Bearup (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) placed 14th with a time of 22:42.29, and Dieterle, Harris and Bearup each garnered Second Team All-ODAC laurels.

This marks the first time W&L has placed six runners on the All-ODAC teams since it had seven following the 2008 championship meet. Senior Marissa Coombs of Virginia Wesleyan claimed the individual crown with a time of 22:01.24.

Senior Rachel Steffen (Coronado, Calif./Coronado) took 23rd in 23:27.90, and first-year Kate Flory (Columbus, Ga./Darlington School) was the team’s eighth runner in the Top 30, as she finished 27th (23:45.90).

The Generals next compete at the NCAA South/Southeast Regional on November 11 hosted by Christopher Newport.

If you know a W&L student who has done great, accolade-worthy things, tell us about them! Nominate them for an accolade.