Nichole Wischoff Selected to NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Championship Field

Nichole Wischoff ’13 (International Relations) of the New Paltz’s women’s cross country team has been selected as an individual participant for the 2011 NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Championships hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wis., as announced Sunday afternoon by the NCAA. The women’s race will start at noon, eastern time.

Wischoff earned a spot in the national championship with a 14th-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 12. She clocked a program-record time of 22:31.0 in the 6K race. Wischoff is the first runner in the history of the program to earn a spot at the national meet, and she earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region honors as a result of her place.

In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals must qualify in their respective NCAA regions.

Thirty-two teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the eight regions, for a total of 16 teams. Sixteen additional teams were selected at-large.

Fifty-six individuals, the first seven athletes from each region who are not a part of a qualifying team, were selected to participate in each championship.

For more information on New Paltz athletics, visit www.nphawks.com.