Victoria Mitchell finishes fourth at NCAA Cross Country Championships

Nov. 21, 2005

Butler senior Victoria Mitchell finished fourth in the nation at the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Monday, Nov. 21 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind.

Mitchell, the reigning NCAA champion in the 3000-meter steeplechase, entered the race as one of the favorites after having won the NCAA Pre-National Meet on the same course Oct. 15. However, she could not overtake Johanna Nilsson of Northern Arizona, who won the race by more than 12 seconds over second-place finisher Caroline Bierbuam of Columbia-Barnard. Mitchell completed the 6000m race in 19:50.04.

As a team, the Butler women finished in 24th place, with a time of 1:47:09, besting last year's 31st place team finish. Stanford took first place with a 1:42:28 finish, followed by Colorado, Duke, Arizona State and Illinois.

On the men's side, Butler finished in 25th place with a time of 2:36:29 in the 1000m race, while Loyola came in 31st at 2:41:34 in the school's first ever appearance in the national meet. Horizon League individual champion Andy Rayner of Butler was the top finisher for both Horizon League schools, finishing in 35th place with a time of 30:30. Horizon League runner-up Sam Romanoski was the top finisher for Loyola, crossing the line in 31.04, good for 86th place.

Wisconsin claimed the men's team honors, winning easily with a time of 2:28.37. The Badgers placed five runners within the top 14, including individual champion Simon Bairu (20:30). Arkansas, Notre Dame, Iona and Colorado rounded out the top five for the men.

Both the men's and women's team from Butler earned at-large berths for the NCAA Championships after fourth-palce finishes at the Great Lakes Regional Championship in Bloomington, Ind. The Loyola men's team also earned an at-large berth after finishing fifth at the Midwest Regional Championship in Iowa City, Iowa.

Visit www.ncaasports.com for complete results

Men's Team Results
Men's Individual Results
Women's Team Results
Women's Individual Results