Spot in NCAA Division III Race Opens Up for Coles
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Goucher's J. Fraley Coles (The Plains, VA/Highland School) was extended an invitation today to compete in the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championship in Northfield, Minn., on Nov. 17.
Spot in NCAA Division III Race Opens Up for Coles
First Female Runner to Represent Goucher at NationalsNov. 11, 2007
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Goucher's J. Fraley Coles (The Plains, VA/Highland School) was extended an invitation today to compete in the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championship in Northfield, Minn., on Nov. 17.
The invitation came a day after she placed 14th in a field of 267 runners at the NCAA Division III Mid-East Regional. She completed the 6,000-meter race in 22:32, a new school record for that distance.
Coles will be the first female runner in school history to compete at the NCAA Division III Championship. On the men's side, Jeff Olenick represented Goucher at nationals in 1997 and 2000, earning Division III All-America honors for his performance in 2000.
Thirty-two women's teams were selected to participate at nationals. The top two teams in each of the eight regions automatically qualified and 16 additional teams were selected at-large today.
Fifty-six individuals - the first seven runners from each region who are not part of a qualifying team - were also chosen. Originally, Coles was the No. 8 runner in the Mid-East region that was not part of a qualifying team, but when Johns Hopkins, Elizabethtown and Allegheny all received at-large bids today, a spot opened up for the Goucher senior.