Cross country: Johns Hopkins women's team wins fifth DIII national title in six years

Three Johns Hopkins runners placed among the top 30 at Saturday's NCAA Division III women's cross country national championship meet as the Blue Jays brought home their second consecutive national title—and fifth in six years—with a dominant victory in Elsha, Illinois.

Junior Ellie Clawson paced Hopkins with a third-place finish, covering the six-kilometer Principia North Farm Course in 20:47.00, less than eight seconds off the winning time posted by Chicago's Khia Kurtenbach. See complete race results

JHU's other finishers were:

• Junior Natalia LaSpada: 23rd in 21:19.30
• Freshman Therese Olshanski: 29th in 21:27.70
• Junior Felicia Koerner: 42nd in 21:40.20
• Sophomore Rebecca Grusby: 48th in 21:48.00
• Senior Caroline Smith: 56th in 21:53.30
• Junior Tasha Freed: 118th in 22:22.70

"It was a very fast race, and we accepted the feeling of being uncomfortable early on," JHU coach Bobby Van Allen said. "We thrived on the excitement of what we could accomplish."

Johns Hopkins placed first with 96 points, nearly half the 191 points posted by runner-up Wisconsim-Eau Claire. Washington University was third with 202 points, followed by MIT (210), and Carleton (258).

"Watching the interactions the team has with one another is the most rewarding part of my job," Van Allen said. "For them to be able to experience a moment like this makes my day.

"They fuel off each other's positive energy. All throughout the trip they were positive and upbeat. Everyone had a great attitude, and the leadership was great. Every person on the team played a big role in its success, and a lot of that success is due to the team's positive attitude."

In the men's meet, Johns Hopkins placed 16th.