BETHLEHEM (PA) – Delaware Valley College junior Caitlin Dorgan became the first women's cross country runner in school history to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships as she finished in fourth place at the NCAA Mid-East Regionals held at Lehigh University. As a team, the Aggie women placed 18th out of 44 squads.
Dorgan, who missed a berth by just one spot last year, left no doubt in 2009 as she ran the 6K race in a time of 21 minutes, 52.1 seconds – nearly a minute off of last year's performance. Only three of the 311 competitors topped that clocking and, as a result, Dorgan will head to Baldwin-Wallace College (Ohio) for the NCAA Championships next Saturday, November 21.
Freshmen Tracey Forsythe (24:04.7) and Alisa Jordan (25:02.0) placed 77th and 147th respectively while Margie Mote (170th – 25:30.5) and Talesha Karish (173rd – 25:32.5) rounded the scoring for Delaware Valley.
Johns Hopkins University won the regional crown with 109 points followed by Dickinson College (113) and Haverford College (146). Jenn Cronin of Lebanon Valley, who edged Dorgan in the Middle Atlantic Conference championships two weeks ago, took home the individual title with a time of 21 minutes, 39.2 seconds.