Contact: Emily Zadny, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

CCIW Women's Championship Results

WARRENVILLE, Ill. (Oct. 27, 2018) – Racing a familiar course in nearly ideal conditions, the North Central College women's cross country team placed second at the 2018 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship at St. James Farm on Saturday, improving its overall mark from last season and celebrating multiple personal achievements.

The Cardinals came out strong out of the gates, led by Dianne Barajas and Madelyn Scopp in hot pursuit of two runners from Wheaton College leading the pack. North Central maintained its group for much of the race, but Hannah Roeske and Aryn Embretson of Wheaton broke away and never looked back. Emma Jourdan held steady with the pack, as did Rachael Vaccaro and Jenna Yakesh who ran side by side for the majority of the 6,000-meter race.

Roeske would win the individual title with a time of 21:27.1 to help the Thunder defend its team tile, but North Central was not far behind. Scopp was the first runner in red and white to cross the line, placing fourth overall with a season-best time of 22:04.8 to secure First Team All-CCIW honors. Barajas followed in seventh (22:20.7), earning a First Team All-CCIW spot, while Jourdan (22:42:2) and Vaccaro, with a new season-best time of 23:01.1, finished in 12th and 18th, respectively. Yakesh was the Cardinals' final scorer, finishing 21st overall with a time of 23:06.4. Rebecca Kaefring and Payton Hartman added 26th and 29th place finishes, respectively, as the sixth and seventh runners.

North Central's efforts led to a second place finish with 62 points, beating out Carroll University with 99 and Illinois Wesleyan University with 103.

The Cardinals return to St. James Farm on Thursday, Nov. 1 to host the North Central College Red White Invitational and tune up before the NCAA Division III Midwest Region Championship the following weekend. Race time for Thursday is set for 4 p.m.