Story Courtesy of Army West Point Athletics Communications
HOPKINTON, N.H. – Charlotte Richman put together a remarkable performance on Friday morning, winning the NCAA Northeast Region women's race and punching her ticket to the NCAA Championships in Missouri next week.
Richman is the first Black Knight to win an individual regional championship in program history.
She posted a blistering time of 19:52.8, exactly one second ahead of the second-place finisher. This is another major individual honor for Richman, who was named the Patriot League Runner of the Year after winning the individual Patriot League Championship on Oct. 31. The senior from Portland, Ore., also came in first place against Navy in the Star Meet a few weeks ago. With the individual championship, Richman will race for a national championship next Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
It wasn't just Richman who impressed though, as the team had a strong day and finished third in the region. All five of Army's point scorers finished inside the top 30. The only other teams to achieve that feat were Boston College and Providence, who earned the auto-bids to nationals next week. The third-place team finish is the best in program history. The next best finish was seventh place last season.
Mikayla Cheney finished in 18
th place with a 20:26.8, while Alma Lazo Cazares finished just one second behind Cheney to round out the top 20. Claire Lewis (23
rd) and Louisa Diamond (29
th) also had good days on the course. Going into Friday, Army had never had a runner place better than 34th.
The women's team will find out its national's fate on Saturday at 5 p.m., during the NCAA Selection Show, as it hopes for an at-large team bid to Missouri.
The men's team finished sixth overall with 215 points. The top Army finisher was Anthony Diaz in 25
th place with a time of 30:10.1. Finishing just behind him was Nathan Davis with a time of 30:15.3, good for 28
th. Adam Furman (47
th), Maximus Haynia (56
th) and Gavin Hansen (59
th) rounded out the points getters for the men's team.
The Black Knights were one of five programs who had its top five finishers finish inside the top 60.
Up Next
Army will await to see if it has any at-large bids joining Richman at the NCAA Championships next Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
Full Results
Women – Third Place
1. Charlotte Richman – 19:52.8
18. Mikayla Cheney – 20:26.8
20. Alma Lazo Cazares – 20:27.8
23. Claire Lewis – 20:31.9
29. Louisa Diamond – 20:35.7
35. Mia Royall – 20:44.9
98. Ava Bushaw – 21:32.9
Men – Sixth Place
25. Anthony Diaz – 30:10.1
28. Nathan Davis – 30:15.3
47. Adam Furman – 30:30.3
56. Maximus Haynia – 30:36.7
59. Gavin Hansen – 30:41.7
144. Parker Harris – 31:44.5
158. Matthew Gorman – 31:56.7