CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY | ALL-AMERICANS
Westfield, MA – The Harper (IL) Hawks successfully completed their three-peat after taking home the 2018 NJCAA DIII Women's Cross Country National Championship for the third consecutive year. The Hawks scored a low-score of 38 on a wet and rainy Stanley Park 5k course.
Tyesha James on Kingsborough (NY) captured the individual title, narrowly edging Harper's Misbah Baig with a time of 19:30.83. Baig's second-place performance came in a time of 19:35.23. Overall, the Hawks placed three runners inside the top five to claim its third-straight title.
- During the Hawks' three-year run, Harper has topped the second-place finisher by an average of 50.6 points.
- Along with Baig, Harper was paced by Rachael Temple's fourth-place finish and Taylor Kresiss' fifth-place performance. Jessi Gessner and Roxanne Temple rounded out the scoring for the Hawks.
- Baig's second-place finish was an improvement for the sophomore after placing third at the 2017 meet, also held at Stanley Park.
- James' national championship performance came one year after a fourth-place finish. The individual title is the first by a Kingsborough runner.
- Oxford Emory (GA) finished in second place with a team score of 89 points after Emily Elder placed third overall with a time of 19:53.20.
- Taylor McClay finished eighth overall to guide Suffolk County (NY) to a third-place finish, the program's best finish since its national championship in 2015.
- FIT (NY) and Hudson Valley (NY) rounded out the top-five team finishers.
- The Harper women join the men's side in capturing the 2018 national title after the Hawk men claimed their eighth consecutive championship on Saturday.