Harper earns fifth women's cross-country national championship, second consecutive
Huntsville, AL – Harper (IL) wins its fifth Women's Cross Country National title by winning the 2023 NJCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championship at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama.
The Hawks' finished the event with a team total of 54 points, only 17 points ahead of runner-up Jefferson (MO). Mineral Area (MO) rounds out the top 3 with a team score of 86. Herkimer (NY) and RCSJ Gloucester (NJ) conclude the top 5 finishers in the event.
Harper's men's team also won the 2023 National Championship, making it the first time since 2018 that Harper also won both the men's and women's cross-country national championships in the same year.
Harper saw two top-ten individual finishers overall secure their second straight title since. Freshman Lilly Alberts returned this season after a third-place finish in 2022 taking home the gold in 2023. Alberts mark of 18:15.80 was over a minute better than 2022, and 48.2 seconds better than second place in the 2023 field.
Sophomore Kaili Decker also earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish and a mark of 20:19.30.
Jefferson earned its second top 5 finish in program history and its highest with a second-place finish. The Vikings saw three student-athletes earn All-America honors.
Freshman Reagan Edwards finished in ninth place with a time of 20:27.00. Teammate Lauren Hartman came in one spot behind her, and finished eight seconds behind. Freshman Sadie Brandt finished with a mark of 20:56.00 and a 14th-place finish.
Mineral Area concluded with a bronze finish and 86 total points. The Cardinals were led by sophomore Riley Petsch with a time of 20:37.10.