Nov. 19, 2007
Terre Haute, IN - The Stanford women's cross country team claimed its third straight NCAA Championship with 145 points this afternoon in Terre Haute, IN, providing the perfect ending to a perfect season. The Cardinal swept every postseason race and never dropped from the top spot in the rankings the entire year. Stanford was led by senior Arianna Lambie who ran to a ninth place finish and ended her career winning an NCAA cross country team title in every season she competed. Oregon (177) and Florida State (236) rounded out the top three team finishers.
"It is an enormous achievement to win the title three years in a row," said head coach Peter Tegen. "We all feel very fortunate to be a part of this. Winning three consecutive championships is an exceptional athletic achievement that doesn't happen very often."
Lambie closed out a memorable collegiate career as she led Stanford with a ninth place finish in a time of 20:18.2, finishing in the top ten for the third year in a row. Senior Lauren Centrowitz stepped up in a big way as the next Stanford runner to finish, earning a 36th place finish in a time of 20:59.3. Junior Katie Harrington ran strong as she recorded a time of 21:06.5 to notch a 40th place finish. Alex Gits was the fifth freshman to cross the line as she ran to a time of 21:12.4 and finished 53rd overall. Senior Teresa McWalters, the NCAA West Regional Runner of the Year, was the final Cardinal point scorer and despite collapsing before the finish she managed to cross the line in 62nd place with a time of 21:16.0. Senior Lindsay Allen posted a time of 21:22.0 to claim 72nd place, while sophomore Kate Niehaus ran to a 89th place finish in her time of 21:29.6. Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech took home her second consecutive individual title as she finished in a time of 19:30.9.
"Even though we were ranked No. 1 throughout season, things can happen in a race to make it interesting," noted Tegen. "I think this teams incredible determination and depth was shown today. Teresa collapsed, but managed to cross finish line and we were still able to come away with the title."