NCAA Championship Women's 6K - Final Results
SAINT LEO, Fla. – Three qualifying teams and a handful of individuals made their presence felt on Saturday morning in the 6K competition of the 2021 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships hosted by Saint Leo University at The Abbey Course.
It was Cedarville, Walsh and Hillsdale, all competing as teams while Findlay’s Gabrielle Lawrence and Malone’s Mackenna Curtis-Collins were entered as individuals after qualifying through a combination of overall season and Midwest Regional performances.
Cedarville matched its best program finish at the national meet with an 11th-place showing out of 34 teams in the field. The Yellow Jackets coincidentally also finished at No. 11 in the 2016 national championship race that was also held in Saint Leo, Fla.
Pacing the Yellow Jackets in the field was senior Rachel Sweeney with a 56th-place effort. Sweeney ran a 21:42.20 and senior Alayna Ackley was just nine spots behind her with a time of 21:47.10.
Freshman Savannah Ackley (22:21.10) and senior Bethany Sholl (22:29.80) also kept the pack mentality consistent for the Yellow Jackets by both finishing in the top 125. As a team, the Yellow Jackets also posted one of the Great Midwest’s top 20 6K program times with a combined total of 1:51:01.00. Cedarville's postseason was also celebrated with a Great Midwest championship team title at the Elvin R. King Course and a top-three finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional for auto qualification.
Walsh senior Alexa Leppelmeier had an amazing day and capped her illustrious career in the sport by finishing 13th overall in a field of Division II’s best 250 runners. After finishing in the top 100 of the 2019 NCAA Championships, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Runner of the Year is the seventh USTFCCCA All-American in league history by virtue of a top-40 finish.
Leppelmeier, who established a new conference record in the 6K at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Evansville, Ind., posted the second 20:58.70 time to earn top 10 in the record books all time.
Leppelmeier matched her own 20:58.70 that was also recorded in the fall of 2021 at the Lock Haven Invitational.
The Cavaliers of Walsh and Chargers of Hillsdale were each making their fourth national championships appearance since joining the league in 2017. Walsh would finish 21st and Hillsdale came in 23rd as freshman Liz Wamsley continued her tremendous postseason run with a spot at No. 55 overall as the top finisher.
Findlay’s all-conference performer and former Great Midwest Freshman of the Year Gabrielle Lawrence also had an impressive morning in the Florida heat by finishing 77th. The junior toured the course with a time of 21:55.70.
With the 2020 NCAA Championship races cancelled, Malone’s Mackenna Curtis-Collins also put the finishing touches on her accomplished career for the Pioneers. This was her second consecutive time qualifying for the national field as an individual as she joined fellow teammate Hannah Thompson in 2019.
Curtis-Collins, a two-time Great Midwest Runner of the Year, would finish at spot 117 with a time of 22:24.30.