TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Oklahoma City women's cross country exceeded its No. 22 ranking to finish 14
th at the NAIA Women's Cross Country Championships on Friday.
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The young Stars squad was led by senior
Erika Pena, who earned All-America honors with her No. 28 finish in 21:51. Pena made a big move just after the halfway mark of the race, jumping up 12 spots from 40
th.
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Kenzi Readnour placed 95
th at 22:50 and
Isabella Gutierrez was 110
th at 22:58.
Isabelle Spiller jumped up 20 spots in the final 2000 meters to 147
th at 23:20.
Florencia Cabrera finished in the scoring five after passing 54 runners in the final half of the race to place 164
th at 23:27.
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"Overall, we competed better then what the nation thought we would," said OCU Head Coach
Andrew Leahey. "We were ranked 25th-23rd in the nation and we got 14th at nationals! Great performance from our girls and im so proud of them, but it wasn't our best and I like that. Im encouraged that we have something great, and as we continue to fill in those spots i want this girls team to get stronger!"
Also for OCU,
Keira Readnour was 179
th at 23:38 and
Makenzi DeHart placed 253
rd at 24:35.
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The Stars finished 14
th with 427 points. Pena,
Kenzi Readnour and Gutierrez all finished ahead of Sooner Athletic Conference individual champion Juliana Molina of Texas Wesleyan.
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Taylor University won the team title behind individual champion Jaynie Halterman, who covered the six-kilometer course in 20:13.
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The national meet punctuated a great season for the Stars, who captured its second consecutive Sooner Athletic Conference title.
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