CLARION’S RICHARD FINISHES FOURTH IN REGION;
QUALIFIES FOR NCAA NATIONAL NATIONALS
Golden Eagles take fifth place as a team
Erin Richard (Erie/McDowell), Clarion University’s senior cross country star, became the first Golden Eagle women since 2004 to qualify for the NCAA Division II national meet with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA East Regional meet at Lock Haven Saturday morning.
Richard, the PSAC Champion, finished in a time of 21:42 helping Clarion to a fifth-place finish at the meet. The fifth-place ending was the Golden Eagles best since taking a school-best second in 2002, while Richard’s fourth-place individual placing was the best at Clarion since Melissa Terwilliger was fourth in 2003.
“I’m very happy with the way we ran today,” Clarion’s second-year head coach Jayson Resch said. “The teams performed well, and to have Erin qualify for nationals is great. That was one of her goals coming into the season.”
Clarion High School graduate Molly Smathers just missed All-Region status finishing 18th in a time of 22:26. The top 15 runners make the Regionals. Her 18th place finish is the fifth best at Clarion in the past five seasons.
Overall, Clarion had all five runners in the top 50 while finishing with 146 team points.
Catlin Palko (Pittsburgh/North Hills) was 37th (23:01), Kate Ehrensberger (St. Marys/Elk County Catholic) was 39th (23:05) and Lisa Nickel (Pittsburgh/Shaler) was 48th (23:21).
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES – The last Clarion women’s runner to qualify for NCAA’s was Melissa Terwilliger in 2004. That season, Terwilliger became the only Clarion runner to earn All-American status finishing 17th … Clarion was 8th at the PSAC meet … The Golden Eagles were sixth at Regionals last season … Richard, who was All-Region with her fourth-place finish, was All-Region last season as well taking 11th … Richard was a three-time All-American in track last year earning All-American honors in the Indoor 5,000 and the outdoor 5,000 and 10,000. She was the PSAC Indoor champion in the Mile and the outdoor PSAC champion in the 3,000 and 5,000. In her career ,she has seven combined PSAC Indoor and Outdoor Track gold medals and was the 2007 PSAC Outdoor Women’s Track Athlete of the Year and the 2007 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) East Region Indoor Women’s Track Athlete of the Year … Richard, a Clarion and PSAC “Scholar-Athlete”, is also a great student and was a 2007 third-team ESPN The Magazine Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-America and a 2007 first-team District 2 College Division ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection as well as a USTFCCCA All-Academic team member.