Fort Lewis College Athletics

Edward Jacobs Jr

Katie Fankhouser led the Skyhawks with an 11th-place finish at the NCAA South Central Regionals

Fankhouser leads Skyhawks at South Central Regional with First-Team All-Region nods

11/19/2022 3:23:00 PM

By: Angela Roberts, Assistant AD - Communications

DENVER, Colo. – Paced by an 11^th-place finish from Katie Fankhouser, the Fort Lewis College women's cross country team finished 10^th in a field of 24 teams at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional at Washington Park on Saturday morning.

"Katie proved herself as a huge factor at the conference and regional level," said head coach Shawn Jakubowski. "We think she will be at the line at nationals, and I have no doubt that if she is given the chance in Seattle, she will prove herself at that level as well."

Fankhouser, earning First Team All-Region to her body of work, improved on her time at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships—a 22:21 mark that placed her 13^th—with a 21:51.7 race that ranks sixth in program history in the 6K.

Adams State University earned the team title with 67 points, coming in just ahead of Colorado School of Mines (72 points). The Grizzlies ran a true pack race with the sixth, eighth, and ninth-place runners leading the team. West Texas A&M boasted the first and second-place finishers in Florance Uwajeneza (21:08.58) and Eleonora Curtabbit (21:10.6)

The trio of Angel Curley, Sophia Mena, and Esther Beck followed in quick succession of one another. Curley turned in a 53^rd-place finish with a time of 23:18.1—nearly two minutes faster than her time at the RMAC Championships. Mena crossed the line in 60^th at 23:37.7 and improved on a 24:15.9 mark from two weeks prior. Beck followed closely behind with a 62^nd place finish at 23:41.6 while Carmella Wright rounded out the top-five with a 24:14.2 mark—good for 76^th.

"The women left it all out there today. There were tough conditions, but it didn't hold them back," recognized Jakubowski. "They secured their top-10 regional ranking. Our program is soaring in the right direction, and today was another huge step."

The Skyhawks ran for a 2:22.5 spread with an average time of 23:20.66. Adams State, Mines, and UCCS each earned automatic bids to the NCAA Division II Championships. Fort Lewis College will await the selection show on Monday to see if its season will be extended to December 3 in Seattle, Washington. Fankhouser is in good position to snag an at-large bid to the championships as an individual performer.

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