Warwick finishes 14th at regionals for women's x-country, earns spot in NCAA field

Kate Warwick '12 (photo by Tom Killip)
Kate Warwick '12 (photo by Tom Killip)
WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior Kate Warwick of Boxborough, Mass., placed 14th at the 2011 NCAA New England Cross Country regional and will make her first-ever appearance at the national championships next weekend at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

      Warwick had a career-best performance at the regional meet by covering the six-kilometer course in 21:49.28, more than a minute better than her time last year and at her previous 6K meet, the University Athletic Association championships. Warwick finished 13 places higher than her 2010 performance. With nine of the 13 finishers ahead of her likely to compete at nationals with their teams, Warwick has an excellent chance to compete at her first NCAA championship meet, though the announcement won't be made until Monday. This is her second All-Region berth.

      The Judges' next four runners were all rookies and sophomores, giving hope for the future of the squad. Finishing in 41st place was sophomore Ali Kirsch (Sharon, Mass./Sharon) with a time of 22:34.15, while rookie Miriam Stulin (Needham, Mass./Dana Hall School) just missed a top-50 performance by a fraction of a second, finishing 51st with a time of 22:50.28. Both were competing in their first NCAA Regional. Sophomore Amelia Lundkvist (So. Portland, Maine/Cheverus) was 63rd with a time of 23:10.29 and classmate Victoria Sanford (LaGrangeville, N.Y./Arlington) was the team's final scorer in 84th place with a time of 23:29.16. Lundkvist finished 100th in 2010, while Sanford was 115th.

      As a team, the Brandeis women finished 10th in the region for the second year in a row in one of the deepest regions in the nation.