Freshman Sydney Nichol of Sweet Home was the Corban University women’s cross country team’s second finisher Nov. 18 as the Warriors posted their best finish ever – 16th overall out of the 36 teams – at the NAIA nationals in Vancouver, Wash.
“Our women’s team had a real solid race and gained two places on their national ranking,” said Corban head coach Norm Berney. “All of the team members gained valuable experience with six out of seven of the runners returning in 2018. The future looks bright and our distance runners should have a great spring track season.”
Corban’s previous best finish at nationals as a team was 27th overall back in 2006, so the Warriors shattered that mark on Saturday in record-setting fashion.
The Warriors were one of four teams from the Cascade Collegiate Conference to place in the top 16, and they finished not far behind perennial power Southern Oregon, which took 15th.
CCC Champions Oregon Tech placed 10th overall, and College of Idaho took sixth.
Leading the way for the record-setting Corban squad was sophomore Amy Jo Murphy, as she crossed the finish line in 45th overall with a time of 18:35. Not far behind her was rookie Nichol in a time of 18:51, while Hannah Clarizio finished in a mark of 19:15.
Elizabeth Oosterhout crossed the line in a time of 19:15, while Brooklyn Baker rounded out Corban’s five scorers with a time of 20:17.
The Warriors return almost the entirety of this year’s squad next year, so the future looks bright for Corban women’s cross country, as the foundation has been laid for what may be big growth in the program.