Courtesy Amherst Sports Information/NCAAsports.com

Men's Results | Women's Results

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Amherst Women's Cross Country team placed first at the 2007 NCAA Championships hosted by St. Olaf on Saturday. The Lord Jeffs finished with a combined score of 120 to edge second place finisher Plattsburgh State by 39 points. The women's team finished one point shy of the crown in 2006, and avenged that runner-up finish with the program's first championship this season.

Leading the charge for the Lord Jeffs was senior captain Heather Wilson (Danvers, Mass.). A three-time NESCAC Performer of the Week in 2007, Wilson finished in 9th place individually.

Following Wilson for Amherst were Elise Tropiano (Plainview, N.Y.) in14th place individually, and Kim Partee (Brentwood, Tenn.) who placed 21st. Rounding out the scoring for the Jeffs were Caitlin McDermott-Murphy (Newton, Mass.) and Sophia Galleher (Denver, Colo.) in 34 and 42, respectively.

The top NESCAC finisher in the Women's race was Middlebury junior Alexandra Krieg (Wellesley, Mass.), finishing third with at time of 21:23.

The national title is the first for head coach Ned Nedeau in his 12th season at Amherst. Nedeau was named the New England Regional Coach of the Year last week for leading both Amherst squads to the District titles.

On the men's side, Williams was the top finishing team, placing 10th in the championship race. Close behind was NESCAC rival Amherst in 12. Hamilton sophomore Peter Kosgei (Kapsabet, Kenya) was the top NESCAC individual finisher, coming in second with a time of 24:37, 13 seconds behind the top finisher.