WINNECONNE, Wisc. --- Eastern Mennonite University's Hannah Chappell-Dick and Roanoke College's Harrison Toney continued their stellar seasons at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Saturday as both placed inside the top-35 in their respective races to earn All-American honors from the USTFCCCA. The duo led a group of six ODAC runners competing in Winneconne, Wisc.
Chappell-Dick, a senior from Bluffton, Ohio, put the finishing touches on a campaign that featured four meet victories -- including the ODAC individual crown -- with a 17th place finish in the women's six-kilometer race. She shattered her own personal record with a time of 21:38.5, finishing within 15-seconds of national champion Abrah Masterson (21:23.1) from Cornell College. Chappell-Dick stood 77th at the two-kilomter point of the race. Two-thirds of the way through she was on her way up and was just seven seconds off the lead. Coming into the home stretch, Chappell-Dick was even with MIT's Maryann Gong. Gong held the edge by three-tenths of a second, with Chappell-Dick holding off six more runners who were within a second of her.
Toney, a senior from Roanoke, Va., won the ODAC men's individual title in addition to four first place finishes this season. He came in on the number at the NCAA championships, finishing 35th with a time of 25:02.2 to mark his fastest eight-kilometer run of the year by more than 40-seconds. Toney was 135th in the 278 runner field after the one-kilometer split. Toney gradually moved up, vaulting into 52nd place after 4.9 kilometers. He stood 40th with just a little more than a kilometer to go and used the remaining distance to pick up five more spots to secure All-American status.
Two additional Royals and a pair from Washington and Lee University also competed on the Lake Breeze Golf Club layouts. EMU sophomore Kat Lehman completed her second NCAA championships appearance in 230th place with a time of 23:13.0, an improvement of her time from the 2014 national meet by 49-seconds. On men's side, Royals' teammate and junior Alec Thibodeaux chimed at 162nd overall with a time of 25:51.7, his third sub-26 minute performance an on eight-kilometer course this season.
W&L's duo of Maggie Seybold and Samantha Yates capped their first seasons in Generals' blue and white with strong showings. They finished just six spots apart, with Seybold crossing the line in 22:39.7 to place 149th. Yates stopped the watches in 22:42.2 to finish 155th overall.
For more information, visit www.ncaa.com or the website of championship-host University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh at www.uwoshkoshtitans.com. For more on ODAC cross country, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter.
EMU's Chappell-Dick, RC's Toney Earn All-American Honors
Posted: Nov 21, 2015