Nov. 22, 2014 Complete Results
THE RUNDOWN
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Led by the fifth-place finish of senior
Rachel Johnson, the 28th-ranked Baylor women's cross country team placed 19th at the NCAA Championships on Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Course.
Saturday marked Baylor's 15th NCAA appearance, the eighth under head coach Todd Harbour and the first since 2009.
Johnson, who received All-American honors for her top-40 finish, completed the 6,000-meter course in a personal-best time of 19:56.8.
Behind Johnson, sophomores Maggie Montoya (20:49.6) and Alex Davis (21:31.6) placed 44th and 146th, respectively. Meanwhile, sophomore Peyton Thomas was BU's fourth runner to cross the finish line in 193rd in 21:53.2. Senior Mariah Kelly rounded out BU's scoring crew with a time of 22:04.5 for a 213th-place finish.
Those five runners totaled 479 team points to finish five points behind 18th-place Michigan and 29 points ahead of 20th-place Dartmouth.
Baylor came through the 2,000-meter mark in 27th-place as a team, but made up ground through the final 4,000-meters to get into the top 20.
HIGHLIGHTS
? Johnson's fifth-place finish is the highest by a BU athlete at the NCAA meet since Natalie Nalepa was also fifth in 1991.
? Johnson becomes the program's sixth different athlete to earn All-American honors.
? Baylor athletes now have claimed eight total All-American accolades.
? BU's 19th-place showing tied its finish in 2008 when the Lady Bears scored 484 points.
? Baylor last took a team to the NCAA Championships in 2009 when it finished 28th.
? Johnson has been the top BU runner in all four of her races this fall.
? The two other runners competing for the women were Madie Zimmerman (240th, 22:45.4) and Ann-Marie Dunlap (DQ).
TOP QUOTE #1
"There were some pretty good teams that we beat today. We definitely improved our ranking, but still it was a fight to do it. Had everything gone just right, we probably could have been top 15, for sure." - head coach Todd Harbour on the women's team
TOP QUOTE #2
"Rachel ran great. She had nothing left. The tank was definitely empty, so it was a great day for her. She's happy. To go from 107th last year to No. 5, I guarantee you nobody else did anything like that." - Harbour on Rachel Johnson's race
WHAT'S NEXT
The NCAA race completes the 2014 cross country season. Baylor's runners will be back in action with the indoor track and field season starting on Jan. 17.
