Mindy Sawtelle Finishes Second at NCAA Cross Country Meet

Complete Team and Individual Results

Indiana University of Pennsylvania freshman Mindy Sawtelle completed one of the top seasons in IUP cross country history by finishing second at the NCAA Division II national championship meet Saturday.

Sawtelle, a resident of Indiana and a graduate of Clearfield High
School, ran the 6K course in a time of 20:59.0, trailing only
individual champion Chelsea Smith of BYU-Hawaii, who posted a time of 20:33.9.  A total of 189 runners competed in the event. 

The runner-up finish was the first ever for a runner from the East
Region and eclipsed Elisa Benzoni’s third place ranking in 1987 for the best showing ever by an IUP woman.  Sawtelle won six races during the 2003 campaign, including the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and NCAA East Region meets earlier this month.

With her performance, Sawtelle became a two-sport All-America at IUP.  Last May, she placed fourth in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.

Despite Sawtelle’s heroics, IUP could manage only a 19th place finish in the 24-team field as no other runner ranked higher than Jessica Steck’s 82nd place spot (23:51.3).  Rounding out the IUP competitors were Sarah Wygant (89th, 24:01.1), Jessica Pentz (98th, 24:08.9), Nicole Blaesser (115th, 24:26.5), Becky Bullard (118th, 24:29.8) and Katy Makstutis (122nd, 24:36.3).

Blaesser, who has been IUP’s number two runner for the majority of the season, fell ill earlier in the week and was not 100 percent at race time.

The top three teams in the United States Track Coaches Association national poll took the first three spots at the national meet.  Adams State and Western State, both in Colorado, were 1-2 with 38 and 101 points, respectively, while Grand Valley State took third with 143 points.

IUP had a team total of 385.  Edinboro, the other team representing the East Region, finished 13th with 320 points.  Vanessa Andes of East Stroudsburg, competing as an individual, was fifth with a time of 21:35.5.