Wartburg's Missy Buttry raced into the records book at the Division III Women's Cross Country Championships, then a couple of runners from Williams staked out their own space in history

Buttry became the first woman in any division to win three straight women's cross country individual titles, finishing 24 seconds ahead of Liz Woodworth of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, who claimed runner-up honors for the second consecutive year during the championships November 20 at Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

But it was the next two finishers -- senior Jenn Campbell and junior Caroline Cretti of Williams -- whose strong start-to-finish performance paced the Ephs to their second team title in three years and clinched a fifth straight victory by schools from the New England Small College Athletic Conference.

Defending champion Middlebury finished second, 29 points behind its conference rival, while Washington U. in St. Louis outpointed Woodworth's Oshkosh team for third place with runners who finished 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 50th and 107th overall. A third NESCAC team, Colby, finished fifth.

"Two years ago, the title wasn't such a surprise," said Williams coach Pete Farwell. "We had been dominating every race by so much going into the meet that we took it for granted when we won. We also had such a young team that year with only two seniors and the rest sophomores and freshmen.

"This year, we had a veteran squad who knew they could do it, but knew it was going to be close with Middlebury and it made the win that much more special."

The NESCAC also was well-represented in individual competition, with Amherst's Carter Hamill claiming fifth and Middlebury's Jessica Manzer and Marisa Cawley finishing eighth and 10th, respectively.

But Campbell and Cretti, who also posted top-10 individual finishes in Williams' 2003 victory, worked from start to finish of the 6-kilometer course to stay among race leaders. That effort paid off, with support from senior Katie Marsh (another returnee from the 2003 squad) and freshman Liz Gleason, who finished 47th and 48th, respectively, overall. Another member of Williams' previous title team, senior Kali Moody, rounded out the scoring for the Ephs, finishing 92nd.

Cretti, who missed last year's championships with an injury, returned to improve on her 2003 fifth-place finish and establish herself as the early favorite for next year's individual race, while Campbell bounced back from a 17th-place finish last year to claim all-American honors for the fourth time.

Meanwhile, another fourth-time all-American completed the most impressive career in NCAA cross country history.

Relatively speaking, Buttry's win was her closest championships victory. She won as a sophomore by just under than a minute, then beat Woodworth last year by slightly more than a minute. This year, Buttry ran about 21 seconds slower than last year on a cool, windy day, enabling Woodworth to cut the gap in half, but Buttry clearly retained command of the race throughout.

With the win, she becomes not only the first three-time woman winner in any division, but also the first man or woman in any division to win cross country titles in three consecutive years.

Also noteworthy among individual finishers was 43-year-old Phyllis Tuggle from Agnes Scott, who improved by two spots on her eighth-place finish at last year's championships to complete her collegiate career with a second-straight top-10 finish.

Tuggle, who competed at Vanderbilt in the early 1980s but gave up distance running to become an internationally successful cyclist, enrolled in studies in German at Agnes Scott and then learned she still had athletics eligibility remaining. Now, the mother of an 11-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son seems satisfied with her career.

""I'll always want to stay in shape," she said after the race, "but I can't think of any reason I would want to enter any competition of any sort in the future."

Team results

1. Williams, 110; 2. Middlebury, 129; 3. Washington-St. Louis, 149; 4. Wis.-Oshkosh, 174; 5. Colby, 202; 6. Wis.-Stevens Point, 224; 7. Luther, 233; 8. Denison, 283; 9. Willamette, 285; 10. Wis.-La Crosse, 297; 11. Carleton, 316; 12. Amherst, 335; 13. Geneseo St., 336; 14. Wesleyan (Conn.), 347; 15. Ithaca, 351; 16. DePauw, 400; 17. Wartburg, 410; 18. Colorado Col., 411; 19. Elizabethtown, 432; 20. Dickinson, 442; 21. Allegheny, 460; 22. Neb. Wesleyan, 463; 23. Haverford, 524; 24. Trinity (Tex.), 551.

Individual results

1. Missy Buttry, Wartburg, 20:22.0; 2. Liz Woodworth, Wis.-Oshkosh, 20:46.5; 3. Jenn Campbell, Williams, 21:25.3; 4. Caroline Cretti, Williams, 21:26.5; 5. Carter Hamill, Amherst, 21:34.4; 6. Phyllis Tuggle, Agnes Scott, 21:35.2; 7. Gina Lucrezi, DeSales, 21:45.1; 8. Jessica Manzer, Middlebury, 21:46.8; 9. Jackie Mulrooney, Wis.-Platteville, 21:58.3; 10. Marisa Cawley, Middlebury, 22:01.5; 11. Amanda Kuca, Concordia (Wis.), 22:04.4; 12. Emily Hulme, Dickinson, 22:05.4; 13. Marcia Taddy, Wis.-Platteville, 22:06.8; 14. Leah Wurm, St. Benedict, 22:07.7; 15. Shannon McConville, John Carroll, 22:08.3; 16. Elisa Pedersen, Grove City, 22:09.2; 17. Amy Bower, Misericordia, 22:10.7; 18. Amy Lyons, Bethel (Minn.), 22:14.3; 19. Ellie Fernandez, John Carroll, 22:15.4; 20. Beth Cunningham, Central (Iowa), 22:15.9.

21. Tracy Bassett, Wellesley, 22:16.1; 22. Cassie Funke, Carleton, 22:16.6; 23. Jenna Mitchler, Wis.-Stevens Point, 22:17.9; 24. Shauneen Garrahan, Amherst, 22:18.3; 25. Jessica Griffin, North Central (Ill.), 22:19.6; 26. Molly Morrison, North Central (Ill.), 22:20.2; 27. Jodie Schoppman, Potsdam St., 22:20.4; 28. Elaine Binkley, Denison, 22:21.1; 29. Courtney Quirin, Wesleyan (Conn.), 22:21.5; 30. Megan Brousseau, Wheaton (Mass.), 22:21.7.

31. Sarah Hobbs, Swarthmore, 22:21.9; 32. Kristy Giljohann, Wis.-Oshkosh, 22:22.2; 33. Eileen Schilling, Centre, 22:23.4; 34. Kari Holbert, Willamette, 22:23.5; 35. Emily Lynch, Luther, 22:24.1; 36. Tina Pike, Hope, 22:25.5; 37. Kristen Painter, Wis.-La Crosse, 22:27.4; 38. Stacey Muchal, Marywood, 22:29.1; 39. Sarah Smith, Pacific (Ore.), 22:29.6; 40. Maggie Grabow, Washington (Mo.), 22:32.4.

41. Keidra Anderson, Hamline, 22:34.3; 42. Tyler Mulkin, Washington (Mo.), 22:35.1; 43. Beth Herndon, Washington (Mo.), 22:37.5; 44. Natalie Shaffer, DePauw, 22:38.7; 45. Karina Johnson, Colby, 22:39.1; 46. Megan Kielar, Wis.-Whitewater, 22:39.9; 47. Katie Marsh, Williams, 22:40.7; 48. Liz Gleason, Williams, 22:43.4; 49. Anna King, Colby, 22:44.2; 50. Stephanie Felz, Washington (Mo.), 22:45.0.

51. Amy DiBianca, Emory, 22:45.8; 52. Andrea Giddiings, Middlebury, 22:47.1; 53. Bridgette Pilling, Ithaca, 22:47.2; 54. Ellen Davis, Wesleyan (Conn.), 22:47.6; 55. Krista Nelson, Luther, 22:48.5; 56. Kristi Dickey, Whitworth, 22:49.6; 57. Kristina Miner, Trinity (Conn.), 22:49.9; 58. Kami Long, Neb. Wesleyan, 22:51.4; 59. Dara Ford, Mount Union, 22:52.5; 60. Sarah Zerzan, Willamette, 22:52.7.

61. Leah Herlache, Wis.-Stevens Point, 22:53.5; 62. Bethany Schiefelbein, Luther, 22:53.9; 63. Meagan Herlache, Wis.-La Crosse, 22:54.9; 64. Renne Catalano, Geneseo St., 22:55.5; 65. Karen Prisby, Colby, 22:56.1; 66. Rachel Blasiak, Ithaca, 22:56.3; 67. Christine Collins, Denison, 22:56.8; 68. Jackie Munoz, Wis.-Oshkosh, 22:56.9; 69. Ceara Danaher, Middlebury, 22:57.4; 70. Amy Ruston, Lehman, 22:58.2.

71. Leah Peelman, Hanover, 22:58.2; 72. Tora Olafsen, St. Lawrence, 22:59.2; 73. Molly Phimister, Willamette, 22:59.6; 74. Leah Shouey, Allegheny, 23:00.2; 75. Shannon Morris, Oberlin, 23:00.4; 76. Leslie Dillon, DePauw, 23:01.4; 77. Bethany DeVilbiss, Pacific Lutheran, 23:01.9; 78. Amber Brandenburger, Neb. Wesleyan, 23:02.1; 79. Megan Craig, Wis.-Stevens Point, 23:02.4; 80. Jenny Jorgensen, Colorado Col., 23:02.9.

81. Makely Lyon, Middlebury, 23:03.4; 82. Jessica Minty, Colby, 23:03.8; 83. Emily Steinhafel, Wis.-Oshkosh, 23:04.4; 84. Lindsay Erickson, Wash. & Lee, 23:04.5; 85. Kim Murley, Denison, 23:05.6; 86. Jenna Fasulo, TCNJ, 23:06.6; 87. Abbey Fergusson, Dickinson, 23:07.4; 88. Stephanie Nugent, Middlebury, 23:08.0; 89. Payson Warlick, Ithaca, 23:08.4; 90. Jessica Holder, Denison, 23:08.9.

91. Jesi Christiansen, Wheaton (Ill.), 23:09.0; 92. Kali Moody, Williams, 23:10.3; 93. Marta Scott, Geneseo St., 23:12.4; 94. Christina McNamara, Kenyon, 23:12.8; 95. Anna McLain, George Fox, 23:12.9; 96. Laura Jean Hudson, Carleton, 23:15.2; 97. Elizabeth Colville, Wesleyan (Conn.), 23:16.4; 98. Ashleigh Potuznik, Wis.-Stevens Point, 23:17.1; 99. Shana Shosky, Pacific (Ore.), 23:17.4; 100. Kelsey Rinehart, Middlebury, 23:17.7.

101. Erin Kelley, Carroll (Wis.), 23:17.7; 102. Natalie Retrum, Luther, 23:20.0; 103. Melissa St. Clair, Elizabethtown, 23:21.1; 104. Besha Lu Dean, Colorado Col., 23:21.3; 105. Sierra Witnov, Whitman, 23:21.6; 106. Meghan Nolan, Geneseo St., 23:22.2; 107. Lindsay Harkema, Washington (Mo.), 23:22.2; 108. Clara Sheets, Haverford, 23:23.9; 109. Jenny Graef, Wis.-Oshkosh, 23:24.2; 110. Elizabeth Petit, Colby, 23:24.6.

111. Jessica Cook, Elizabethtown, 23:24.6; 112. Rosa Alvarez, Wis.-Oshkosh, 23:25.0; 113. Katie Garner, Elizabethtown, 23:25.3; 114. Kristen Howe, Wis.-La Crosse, 23:25.3; 115. Maya Kessler, Williams, 23:28.3; 116. Jennifer Emo, Rhodes, 23:29.1; 117. Trisha Sliker, Rochester Inst., 23:29.5; 118. Rebecca Ades, Tufts, 23:29.6; 119. Kallyn Peterson, Wis.-Stevens Point, 23:30.2; 120. Julie Mocadlo, Wis.-La Crosse, 23:30.3.

121. Jeanine Stewart, Colorado Col., 23:30.8; 122. Christy Finke, Geneseo St., 23:31.4; 123. Prentiss Clark, Haverford, 23:31.7; 124. Kim Partee, Amherst, 23:32.5; 125. Heather Thomas, St. Lawrence, 23:32.8; 126. Becky Schaumberg, Carleton, 23:34.1; 127. Leigh Ciofani, Allegheny, 23:34.3; 128. Meghan Miller, Carleton, 23:34.5; 129. Beth Baird, Wis.-Oshkosh, 23:35.6; 130. Katherine Wingert, Carleton, 23:35.8.

131. Elizabeth Turner, Colby, 23:36.7; 132. Erin Deihl, Elizabethtown, 23:37.3; 133. Jennifer Burn, Trinity (Tex.), 23:37.8; 134. Lindsey Shouey, Allegheny, 23:38.9; 135. Katie Pierce, Willamette, 23:39.6; 136. Erin Dunham, Luther, 23:39.7; 137. Sarah Orzell, Puget Sound, 23:39.9; 138. Julie Ridenour, Wartburg, 23:40.1; 139. Ashley Sabin, Neb. Wesleyan, 23:41.2; 140. Larrisa Wilkinson, Trinity (Tex.), 23:42.7.

141. Veronique VanGheem, Wis.-Stevens Point, 23:44.4; 142. Ariel Perkins, Wis.-La Crosse, 23:44.7; 143. Ginny Griffin, Washington (Mo.), 23:46.9; 144. Valerie Vradenburg, Wis.-La Crosse, 23:47.7; 145. Emily Mason, DePauw, 23:49.1; 146. Kristin Wayman, Geneseo St., 23:49.7; 147. Angela Kremer, Colorado Col., 23:50.2; 148. Sara Eppley, Wartburg, 23:50.3; 149. Scarlett Graham, Allegheny, 23:50.3; 150. Andrea Moreland, Washington (Mo.), 23:52.2.

151. Brooke Ferguson, Wartburg, 23:52.8; 152. Elizabeth Hart, Willamette, 23:56.4; 153. Lauren Hendrix, DePauw, 23:56.6; 154. Teresa Stanley, Wis.-Stevens Point, 23:58.6; 155. Katie Moravec, Amherst, 23:59.5; 156. BrieAnn Reedy, Wartburg, 24:01.0; 157. Susan Meyer, Ithaca, 24:01.1; 158. Andrea Pope, Dickinson, 24:01.7; 159. Karen Merrill, Geneseo St., 24:03.1; 160. Megan Shea, Trinity (Tex.), 24:04.0.

161. Bobbi Wright, Willamette, 24:04.7; 162. Kerry Banazek, St. Lawrence, 24:04.7; 163. Ashley Burch, Trinity (Tex.), 24:05.2; 164. Hillary Easter, Colby, 24:06.2; 165. Claire Fawcett, Haverford, 24:06.6; 166. Erin Smith, Wesleyan (Conn.), 24:08.2; 167. Megan Sturges, Ithaca, 24:08.4; 168. Emily Welsh, Williams, 24:13.9; 169. Ashley Poland, Colorado Col., 24:14.5; 170. Caitlin Bradley, Dickinson, 24:16.1.

171. Alyssa Tingle, Ithaca, 24:17.2; 172. Francesca Duffy, Haverford, 24:17.7; 173. Ashley Albrecht, Denison, 24:18.3; 174. Megan Wise, Wesleyan (Conn.), 24:18.6; 175. Christy Sweaney, Colorado Col., 24:21.5; 176. Tiffany Carson, DePauw, 24:21.6; 177. Laura Mortimer, Amherst, 24:22.5; 178. Nora McIver-Sheridan, Carleton, 24:24.1; 179. Melissa Palmer, Wis.-La Crosse, 24:24.4; 180. Amanda Huling, Luther, 24:24.7.

181. Ginger Polich, Amherst, 24:27.3; 182. Emma Lo, Haverford, 24:28.4; 183. Jill Wagaman, Wartburg, 24:29.1; 184. Anastasia Kasianchuk, Ithaca, 24:30.3; 185. Joanna Clagnaz, Luther, 24:31.1; 186. Susanna Pierce, Trinity (Tex.), 24:31.2; 187. Danielle Frye, Elizabethtown, 24:34.0; 188. Carly Killam, Willamette, 24:38.2; 189. Allie Rowe, Colorado Col., 24:39.7; 190. Michelle Corkum, Allegheny, 24:40.3.

191. Diane Nielsen, Neb. Wesleyan, 24:40.8; 192. Tara Fagan, Elizabethtown, 24:41.4; 193. Katie Kuba, Allegheny, 24:46.3; 194. Annie Scogin, Dickinson, 24:48.4; 195. Amanda Santore, Elizabethtown, 24:49.0; 196. Alison Rodriguez, Amherst, 24:53.3; 197. Karissa Slack, Neb. Wesleyan, 24:56.4; 198. Heather Hoecker, Carleton, 24:59.7; 199. Delia Springstubb, Wesleyan (Conn.), 25:06.7; 200. Deirdre Din, Haverford, 25:07.4.

201. Amanda Godemann, Neb. Wesleyan, 25:10.4; 202. Mandy Willingham, DePauw, 25:13.9; 203. Sarah Allen, Geneseo St., 25:15.6; 204. Clare Eshenour, Haverford, 25:18.2; 205. Joanna Sullivan, Dickinson, 25:18.9; 206. Maggie Webster, Dickinson, 25:25.9; 207. Alison Hoing, Trinity (Tex.), 25:42.8; 208. Abbey Valvano, Denison, 25:49.8; 209. Sarah Bernier, Wesleyan (Conn.), 26:01.1; 210. Molly McGravey, Allegheny, 26:38.5.

211. Kylee Bendfeldt, Neb. Wesleyan, 27:55.7.