Nov. 4, 2000

Women's Cross Country Squad Finishes Third at Regionals

The Truman State University women's cross country team placed third at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional on Saturday, coming up just short of qualifying as a team for the NCAA Division II Championships.

Truman finished with a score of 87 in Saturday's race, held in Commerce, Texas. However, only the top two teams on the women's side qualify for the national meet. The Bulldogs were nine points behind second-place Pittsburg State (Kan.), which captured the final qualifying spot behind regional champion Central Missouri.

The 'Dogs were led by sophomore Suzanne Schmidt (Omaha, Neb./Elkhorn) and junior Beth Luebbering (St. Thomas, Mo./Helias), who placed 11th and 12th, respectively. Schmidt turned in a time of 25:00.15 for the 6,000-meter course, while Luebbering finished in 25:05.01. Schmidt did not gain one of the two qualifying spots for individuals as two members from non-advancing teams, Abilene Christian and Southeastern Oklahoma, finished in the top four.

Like the Bulldog men, Truman had four runners in the top 17. Senior Kristi Willenberg (St. Peter's, Mo./Francis Howell-UMKC) placed 16th in 25:15.37, while sophomore Jennifer Tesmer (Harrisonville, Mo.) came in 17th after touring the course in 25:16.79. Junior Jody Shanks (Liberty, Mo.) rounded out the Bulldogs' top five by finishing 31st in 26:04.74.

Here are Truman's complete results from the regional meet:

FINAL TEAM SCORING
NCAA Division II South Central Regional
Commerce, Texas, Nov. 4, 2000
1. Central Missouri            52
2. Pittsburg State (Kan.)      78
3. Truman                      87
4. Emporia State (Kan.)       120
5. Missouri Southern          136
6. Southeastern Oklahoma      144
7. Southwest Baptist          166
8. Central Oklahoma           184
9. Abilene Christian (Texas)  227
10. Northwest Missouri        245
11. Missouri-Rolla            265
12. Incarnate Word (Texas)    337

TRUMAN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Rank, Name	Time
11. Suzanne Schmidt                                25:00.15
12. Beth Luebbering                                25:05.01
16. Kristi Willenberg                              25:15.37
17. Jennifer Tesmer                                25:16.79
31. Jody Shanks                                    26:04.74
46. Amy Johnson (Blue Springs, Mo./South)          26:51.58
52. Leah Zidon (Bondurant, Iowa/Bondurant-Farrar)  27:08.44

2000 Schedule & Results | Women's Cross Country | Truman Athletics