GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Jessica Shaw made
Albion College cross country history Saturday.
And she's only a sophomore.
Running in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Championship, the Allegan product completed the 6K course in a
school-record time of 21 minutes, 47 seconds to finish second,
achieving the best finish by an Albion woman in the league since
1983. Shaw left the meet with first team all-league
distinction.
"Jessica executed her race plan perfectly," Albion first-year
coach Derick Lawrence said. "Her last 400 meters was the key in her
race. She made a strong move to beat the second Calvin College
runner."
Not to be outdone, Emily Allison
finished as the top first-year runner in the league. She finished
15th overall, reaching the finish line in a
personal-record time of 23:06, to achieve second team all-league
status.
"Emily worked her way up through the race," Lawrence said. "She
is improving every race."
Megan
Wickens, Albion's No. 3 runner, was the 25th runner
to finish. She completed her race in 23:44.
First-year runners Leanne Wegley and
Allison
Snyder helped Albion achieve a third-place finish in the team
standings. Wegley was the 36th runner to finish (24:20)
and Snyder was 44th (24:34).
"The goal was to work together for the first half of the race
and to pick people off," Lawrence said. "We closed the gap between
our top five runners and have improved a lot. I'm excited heading
into the regional meet."
Wilmington (Ohio) College will host the Great Lakes Regional
Championship Nov. 15.
