Coles Places 14th at Mid-East Regional
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Goucher's J. Fraley Coles (The Plains, VA/Highland School) ran the fastest 6,000-meter race in the history of the school's cross country program today to finish in 14th place at the NCAA Division III Mid-East Regional.
Coles Places 14th at Mid-East Regional
Senior Finishes Race in 22:32, New School Record for 6KNov. 10, 2007
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Goucher's J. Fraley Coles (The Plains, VA/Highland School) ran the fastest 6,000-meter race in the history of the school's cross country program today to finish in 14th place at the NCAA Division III Mid-East Regional.
The senior crossed the finish line in 22:32, breaking the school record for a 6K cross country race set in 2002 by Margo Becker by eight seconds. By placing 14th in a field of 267 runners, Coles earned all-region honors for the second year in a row.
The individual champion was Erin Fisher from Elizabethtown, who completed the race in 21:18 for a 12-second victory over runner-up Caitlin Bradley from Dickinson.
Coles was the only runner to represent Goucher in the race, so the Gophers did not earn a team score. Dickinson won the team title with 53 points and Haverford finished second with 110 points, and both will compete at next week's NCAA Division III Championship in Northfield, Minn.
It won't be known until Sunday whether Coles will advance to nationals. The top seven runners in the Mid-East Regional who are not on one of the teams that have qualified for nationals move on and right now she is the eighth runner. If, however, either Johns Hopkins or Elizabethtown, which placed third and fourth, respectively, were to earn an at-large bid to nationals, that would open up a spot for Coles to go.