CONWAY, Ark. -- The Washington and Lee men's and women's cross country teams both finished fourth overall at the NCAA South/Southeast Region Championships hosted by Hendrix College on Saturday afternoon.
The W&L men placed fourth of 18 teams and were led by a pair of all-region runners in senior Nathan Johnson (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) and sophomore Alex Mahoney (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier/Singapore American). Johnson placed third overall with a time of 25:11.4 to qualify for the NCAA National Championships for the second straight season. Mahoney finished sixth overall and narrowly missed a bid to nationals with a time of 25:35.7.
Freshmen Michael Welsh (Tullahoma, Tenn./Tullahoma) and Vance Berry (Ponte Verde Beach, Fla./Episcopal), and sophomore Andrew Friski (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) also scored for the Generals. Welsh finished 29th (26:25.2), Berry placed 48th (26:58.6) and Friski crossed the tape 56th with a time of 27:13.2.
The W&L women produced their highest-ever finish at regionals with a fourth place showing out of 22 teams. Freshman Jackie Burns (Burke, Va./Woodward Academy), senior Mary Christopher (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) and sophomore Lindsay Erickson (Silver Spring, Md./Stone Ridge) all earned all-region accolades with their finishes. Burns placed 11th overall with a time of 23:06.2, Christopher was 25th overall with a time of 23:39.5 and Erickson completed the course in 23:39.9, placing 26th overall.
Freshman Becca Taylor (Hamilton, Ohio/Edgewood) and junior Jenny Ratzel (Elm Grove, Wisc./Brookfield East) also scored for the Generals, placing 36th and 48th, respectively, Taylor finished in 24:07.2 ad Ratzel crossed the finish line in 24:30.1.
Both W&L teams have now completed their season, but Johnson will continue on as an individual in the NCAA Cross Country Championships held next Saturday at Ohio Wesleyan University. The men's race begins at 12:00 noon.