The NCAA News - News Features

Cardinal women knock off six-time champion Villanova

The women's cross country team at Stanford accomplished the only goal it set this season by winning its first Division I Women's Cross Country Championships team title November 25 at Arizona.

Five Stanford runners finished among the top 55 runners -- and three finished among the top 17 -- to help the Cardinal edge six-time champion Villanova, which finished as runner-up.

The Cardinal, making its fourth consecutive championships appearance, scored 101 points, five fewer than the Wildcats (106). Stanford's point total is the second-highest by a team champion in the championships' 16-year history. Villanova claimed the 1992 title with 123 points.

Stanford's men's team also won a title, thus completing only the second sweep of the Division I championships. Wisconsin won the men's and women's titles in 1985.

"All season we ran with the purpose of getting on the podium," Stanford cocoach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "It was outstanding to have three kids in the top 20. Our kids really stepped up when Sarna Renfro got in trouble with dehydration. We thought if we got five runners in the top 50, we would be on the podium. It was a great team effort."

Alford-Sullivan coaches the team with Stanford men's coach Vin Lananna.

Brigham Young placed third with 136 points, its best finish ever. Colorado and Dartmouth rounded out the top five. Providence, the 1995 champion, finished seventh.

Arizona's Amy Skieresz won the individual crown, covering the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 4 seconds. Skieresz is the first Wildcat runner to win the title.

Monal Chokshi, Jessica Fry and Mary Cobb each garnered top-20 individual finishes to lead the Cardinal. Chokshi led the way, placing 10th with a time of 17:58. Fry and Cobb finished 16th and 17th, respectively, with times of 18:05 and 18:06.

Leila Burr and Sara Moore accounted for the rest of the Cardinal team points, placing 42nd and 55th, respectively.

Renfro placed 78th in 18:56.

Skieresz, a sophomore who was runner-up at the 1995 championships, easily outdistanced the field in winning the individual title. Skieresz finished 16 seconds ahead of Marie McMahon of Providence.

"This win has not sunk in yet. It just seems like another race," Skieresz said. "I was kind of scared toward the end of the race. I did not know where anyone was.

"I was not sure if anyone was gaining. I did not think it would be the kind of race it was. I thought it would be a lot closer at the end."