Michigan
NCAA Championships
Wolverine Women Take 22nd at NCAA Championships
11/20/2021 12:00:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
Site: Tallahassee, Fla. (Apalachee Regional Park Cross Country Course)
Event: NCAA Cross Country Championships
Distance: Six kilometers (3.73 miles)
U-M Team Finish: 22nd of 31 teams (500 points)
Top U-M Individual: Katelynne Hart, 69th (20:16.6)
Next U-M Event: Season complete
• Photo Gallery
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The national No. 17-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team finished 22nd at the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning (Nov. 20) in what was their 20th consecutive nationals appearance as a team to bring their fall campaign to a close.
Katelynne Hart and Kayla Windemuller both finished top-100 in 69th and 79th, respectively, to lead the Wolverines over the six-kilometer (3.73-mile) circuit on the grounds of the Apalachee Regional Park Cross Country Course.
Michigan totaled 500 points in the team standings, with additional top finishes from 108th-place Ericka VanderLende, 179th-place Samantha Tran and 181st-place Alice Hill. Samantha Saenz (211th) and Julia Vanitvelt (231st) rounded out the seven-woman lineup.
NC State won the team race with 84 points, and BYU's Whittni Orton was the individual champion.
The Wolverines ultimately finished in the same spot they came through the opening 1.17K split, though Michigan climbed into the teens throughout the race.
As Hart, VanderLende and Windemuller challenged to position themselves for top-40 All-America honors by the 2K split -- all were running between 50th and 85th -- the Wolverines bumped up to 20th in the team standings.
Michigan reached what would be its high-water mark in the team race at the halfway 3K split, moving up to 17th as the trio of Hart (53rd), VanderLende (55th) and Windemuller (76th) were at their collective peak as a unit, with a boost from a 24-spot climb by Saenz.
The momentum shifted back the opposite direction in the second half of the race for the Wolverines, dropping down to 19th at 4K and 21st with only a kilometer to go. While Michigan's trio up front lost a combined 28 spots in the last K, the team score was stabilized by a combined 23-spot improvement over that span by Tran (+8) and Hill (+15).
With the cross country season now complete, the Wolverine distance runners will join their sprinter, jumper and thrower teammates in turning their attention toward the indoor track and field season that will begin in January. A full schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.
Full Michigan Results
69. Katelynne Hart -- 20:16.6
79. Kayla Windemuller -- 20:21.3
108. Ericka VanderLende -- 20:33.2
179. Samantha Tran -- 20:58.5
181. Alice Hill -- 20:59.3
211. Samantha Saenz -- 21:20.0
231. Julia Vanitvelt -- 21:49.8
Full Team Standings
1. No. 1 NC State -- 84 points
2. No. 4 BYU -- 122 points
3. No. 2 New Mexico -- 130 points
4. No. 3 Colorado -- 187 points
5. No. 10 Notre Dame -- 215 points
6. No. 16 Stanford -- 233 points
7. No. 5 Minnesota -- 313 points
8. No. 7 Arkansas -- 328 points
9. No. 10 Iowa State -- 332 points
10. No. 9 Ole Miss -- 350 points
11. No. 23 Washington -- 366 points
12. No. 13 Wisconsin -- 376 points
13. No. 6 Oklahoma State -- 404 points
14. No. 8 North Carolina -- 405 points
15. No. 15 Alabama -- 428 points
16. No. 19 Michigan State -- 438 points
17. No. 18 Colorado State -- 455 points
18. No. 22 Georgetown -- 464 points
19. No. 12 Florida State -- 468 points
20. No. 14 Utah -- 483 points
21. No. 28 West Virginia -- 489 points
22. No. 17 Michigan -- 500 points
23. No. 21 Northern Arizona -- 532 points
24. No. 26 Oregon -- 534 points
25. No. 24 Harvard -- 541 points
26. No. 25 Providence -- 594 points
27. Villanova (RV) -- 605 points
28. No. 27 Utah State -- 638 points
29. No. 30 Butler -- 660 points
30. No. 20 Syracuse -- 768 points
31. Rice (RV) -- 811 points
Players Mentioned
