WINGATE, N.C. -- Madison Clay became the first Catawba women's cross country runner to claim a regional title as she won the NCAA II Southeast Regional Cross Country Meet held at Wingate University on Saturday morning. Clay's win along with a fourth-place finish from Raina Andrews helped the Catawba women finish third and automatically qualify for the NCAA II National Championships.
Clay, a freshman, covered the 6k course in a time of 21:33 and claimed the top spot by 13 seconds. Andrews ran a time of 22:12. Natalie Almond and Mikayla Jones finished 26th and 27th, posting times of 23:04 and 23:11, respectively. Aislynn Reagle was the other counting score as the fifth runner. She placed 30th in a time of 23:15.
Wingate took the top team spot with 46 points and were followed by Anderson and Catawba at 88. Anderson took the second spot by virtue of its sixth runner finishing better than Catawba's.
The NCAA II Cross Country Championships will take place on Friday, Dec. 2 at the Chambers Creek Regional Park at University Place, Wash.
