Hanover, Ind.—The women’s cross country team will be competing in their ninth straight National Championship Saturday, hosted by Hanover. Ithaca has qualified for the race 18 times in program history. The Bombers were won of 32 teams selected to compete based on their performance at Saturday’s Atlantic Regional Championship. Fans can follow Ithaca through live streaming video provided by CBS Sports.
The Bombers will be led by Empire 8 champion and all-region performer Lindsey Nadolski (Chapel Hill/Chapel Hill, N.C.). The senior finished third overall at the regional meet. She has been named Empire 8 Runner of the Week a record eight times this season. Joining Nadolski on the all-region team was junior Melanie McCormick (Champlain Valley Union/Williston, Vt.), who finished 24th. McCormick has been the Bombers’ number-two runner all season, and was Empire 8 runner-up.
Freshman Heidi Baumbach (Lake Placid/Lake Placid) and senior Kasey Currier (Masconomet/Middleton, Mass.) have also been consistent scorers for the Bombers, and placed 37th and 38th, respectively, at regionals. Junior Liz DeLong (Dansville/Dansville) has made steady improvement all season and was Ithaca’s fifth runner Saturday, placing 47th at the first regional championship.
Sophomore Catherine Ortiz (Newburgh Free Academy/Newburgh) and junior Amanda Boccio (Guilderland Central/Albany) were Ithaca’s final two runners at regionals, placing 53rd and 60th, respectively.
All of Ithaca’s top seven runners were named all-Empire 8. Nadolski, McCormick, Baumbach and Currier received first-team honors while Boccio, Ortiz and DeLong were named to the second-team. In addition, Nadolski and McCormick were named first-team all-state following the New York State Collegiate Track Conference (NYSCTC) Championship. Baumbach and Currier were named to the second-team and DeLong received third-team honors.
The top 35 runners at nationals will be named to the All-America team. Rachel Blasiak, who finished 26th at the 2006 race, was Ithaca’s last women’s cross country all-American.
The women will compete Saturday at noon. The race will be preceded by the men’s championship at 11 a.m.