The RIT Women’s cross country team closed out their second season as a varsity sport on Saturday at the 2002 NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional Cross Country Championships hosted by The College of New Jersey. The Tigers finished 18th of 29 teams competing at this extremely competitive meet.
For the entire season, the Tigers were led by senior Heidi Spalholz (Bainbridge, N.Y./Bainbridge). At the Regional Cross Country Championships, Spalholz finished 11th out of 209 competitors. This meet was characterized as “exciting and disappointing at the same time on the mud and rain of the Washington Crossing State Park 6 km course” by Tigers coach Dave Warth.
Spaholz narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, finishing three seconds off Fredonia State’s Morgan Burrows, the final individual qualifier for Nationals. “The disappointing part is that Heidi finished 11th overall and still missed the National meet” noted Warth. “It is very unusual to finish that high and not garner one of the spots reserved for individual qualifiers to nationals" added Warth. "In any of the last three years Heidi would have easily been one of the individual National qualifiers with an 11th place finish.”
In the last 1000 meters of the race, Spalholz closed over 10 seconds of the gap between hear and Burrows, and passed five other finishers in pursuit of a spot qualifying her for nationals. At the NYSCTC district meet a week earlier, Spalholz finished 35 seconds behind Burrows a week earlier. "Heidi was pointing to this race for the whole season, and was especially focused for it after her strong 2nd place finish in Saratoga on October 26th. She has really proven herself to be a great pressure performer and always comes through in the big meets" concluded Warth.
Spalholz will look to continue her strong athletic performance this winter during the winter and spring track and field season.
