Bethlehem, Pa.--- The Moravian College women's cross country team ran at the 2014 NCAA Division III Mideast Regionals hosted by Dickinson College at Big Spring High School with senior Emily Lambright and freshman Jillian Troisi garnering All-Region accolades.
The women's team took eight place out of 52 teams with 257 points and finished ahead of rival Muhlenberg College to earn a point in the Matte Award standings.
"We couldn't have finished much better as a team," commented fourth year Head Cross Country Coach Jesse Baumann. "We were looking to get into the top 10 to hopefully finish even better than last year, and we did. We had a phenomenal race with a bunch of personal records and a great day for the girls and I couldn't be more proud of how they finished."
Lambright led the Hounds with a career best time of 22:54.1 in the 6,000-meter course taking 29th place out of 370 runners. Lambright claims Mideast All-Region honors for the first time in her career by placing in the top 35.
"We were looking for Emily to earn All-Region and possibly an outside shot at Nationals," commented Baumann. "Her individual race was really good, and we shot for top 35 while she raced the best she could. She improved her spot about 30 spots from last Regionals and top 23 for the first time ever which is a huge personal best."
Sophomore Meg Brockett and Troisi finished right behind each other with personal bests, Brockett, at 23:15.1 and Troisi, at 23:15.4 taking 40 and 41st place respectively. Troisi was the sixth freshman to finish the race, and the top seven freshmen earn Freshman All-Region honors.
"Jillian has really improved throughout the year," stated Baumann. "She was one of our slower runners at the beginning of the season and all of a sudden is one of the best freshman in the entire region. It's been an amazing transformation for her, she's run incredible for us and will be a great leader and someone we can count on in the future so we are ecstatic with her."
Senior Claire Del Casale finished with a personal best pace of 23:44.2 while freshmen Kirsten Lebo finished in 24:04.6, which is also a personal best. Senior Devon Bedell came in at 24:14.5, and rounding out the squad was sophomore Sarah Hughes who finished at 24:46.1.
