Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships
Chandler Becomes Bucknell's First All-Region Winner Since 2006
11/13/2015 4:16:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
PRINCETON, N.J. – Junior Sarah Chandler earned All-Region honors with a 24th-place finish, and the Bucknell women's cross country team took eighth among 30 teams at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships held at Princeton's West Windsor Fields on Friday afternoon.
Chandler became Bucknell's first All-Region winner since Leanna Nastase in 2006. She finished the 6k race in 21:35, just five-tenths of a second behind the runner in front of her. Temple senior Blanca Fernandez won the individual title with a time of 20:52, while Princeton's Emily de La Bruyere was the runner-up in 20:53.
“We did not have a great day as a team with a few key people struggling today,” said Bucknell head coach Kevin Donner. “A year ago we were happy to finish eighth. This year we were disappointed, but that shows that we have raised the expectations. Chandler ran a very nice race to make All-Region.”
Junior Kate Scott was Bucknell's next best runner, taking 64th in the field of 200 runners. Senior Deanna Godby wrapped up her collegiate career with a 67th-place showing, while fellow senior Nora Adams, the Patriot League Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was 75th. Freshman Christine O'Kane was 93rd and senior Kate VanNess was 100th to give the Bison six runners in the top half of the individual standings.
Chandler's All-Region award adds to the impressive list of honors picked up by the Bison over the past two weeks. Chandler, Scott and sophomore Christine Bendzinski all earned First Team All-Patriot League recognition, while Godby, Adams and O'Kane landed on the Second Team after leading Bucknell to the Patriot League team title two weeks ago.
No. 10 Penn State won the team title, followed by No. 14 Georgetown, No. 23 Princeton and No. 26 Villanova. Penn State and Georgetown received the region's two automatic bids to the NCAA Championships. Bucknell was the top Patriot League finisher and was followed in the team standings by La Salle and Navy in ninth and 10th, respectively.
Players Mentioned
