Nov. 14, 2009

Photo Gallery

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The No. 2 women's cross country squad trudged through an extremely muddy course at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore to dominate the strongest region in the country and win the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Regional, earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.

The margin of victory in the competitive field left the Wildcats in first place by a generous 54 points ahead of runner-up Princeton, ranked fourth nationally. Seventh ranked West Virginia was third with 82 points, while No. 11 and No. 12, Penn State and Georgetown, were fourth and fifth with 98 and 100 points, respectively.

"I am so proud of the way the girls ran together, putting themselves at the front of the race from the very beginning," head coach Gina Procaccio said. "The team ran great through the tough conditions, once again. It was an impressive team effort and we're excited to get to Nationals."

Junior Sheila Reid earned her fourth individual title this season to lead the Wildcats in 20:23. Close behind her was classmate Amanda Marino who crossed the finish line in 20:27 for second place. Reid and Marino ran with the lead pack of 12 runners through the halfway mark, but with 1,000m to go the pack had whittled down to four. With about half a mile left in the race, they took off in unison, leaving Georgetown's Emily Infeld (3rd) and Penn State's Bridget Franek (4th) behind. Reid found an extra gear in the final 100m and pulled away from Marino to give Villanova its second 1-2 finish of a championship meet this season.

Sophomore Bogdana Mimic and junior Ali Smith ran together to finish fifth and sixth, respectively. Mimic clocked in at 20:47, while Smith finished in 20:49. Senior Kaitlyn Tallman was the final scorer for the Wildcats as she finished in 20:57 for ninth place.

Senior Nicole Schappert and freshman Brooke Simpson helped to displace several teams' scorers as Schappert finished in 21:02 and Simpson in 21:19 for 12th and 15th place, respectively.

Each Villanova runner earned All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors for finishing in the top-25.

The Wildcats had four runners finish ahead of Princeton's top runner and all seven were in the top-15. Villanova scoring five placed in the top nine.

Villanova will turn its focus to the NCAA Championship on Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind., and are hosted by Indiana State University.

Complete Women's Results