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December 1, 2007

2007 WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY REVIEW

Liz Driscoll qualifies for NCAA Division III national meet; Vikings win Mustang Open and place third in CCIW championships

Senior Liz Driscoll (Lyons Township HS, LaGrange, Ill.) put together a tremendous senior season for the Augustana women’s cross country team, culminating with a trip to the NCAA Division III national meet. Driscoll competed in a total of eight meets during the 2007 season and she was the Vikings’ top finisher in each one. The team’s Most Valuable Performer a year ago, Driscoll got started on a positive note by winning the Augustana Open on September 2 with a time of 24:33 at Credit Island Golf Course in Davenport, Iowa. From that point she was the model of consistency the entire season.

Besides winning the Augustana Open, she also won the Mustang Open in Ontario, Canada on October 4 with a time of 14:38 over the 4,000 meter course. She was fifth in the Illinois Intercollegiates on September 14 and seventh at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational on September 29. She saved her best for last, when it counted the most.

At the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin championship meet on October 27 in Normal, Illinois at Illinois State University, she responded with a third place finish in a time of 23:16. That was the highest individual finish by an Augustana runner in the CCIW since Susan Paige won the 1998 conference title. She used the conference race as a springboard to the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional, which was held on November 10 in Winneconne, Wisconsin. She finished 13^th with a time of 21:57 and that earned her a spot in the NCAA Division III national meet, which was on November 17 in Northfield, Minnesota. She was the first Viking to qualify for the national meet since Angela Crowley in 1999. She placed 98^th in the national meet.

With Driscoll leading the way, the Vikings had a solid season. They won the Mustang Open in Ontario, Canada on October 4 by scoring just 26 points. That was well ahead of runner-up Saugeen, which totaled 55 points. Augustana started the season with an easy win over Knox in the Augustana Open on September 2 and also defeated Coe at the Coe Equalizer by a score of 22-38 on October 20. In the Coe meet, freshman Hannah Hottle (Monmouth-Roseville HS, Monmouth, Illinois) won the meet individually with a time of 15:37 as Driscoll rested on that day.

The Vikings were a solid fourth in the Illinois Intercollegiates on September 14 in Normal, Illinois and followed that with a fourth in the 26 team Brissman/Lundeen Invitational on September 21 on their home course of Credit Island in Davenport, Iowa. Augustana was sixth at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational on September 29.

Thanks to Driscoll’s third place individual finish, the Vikings of veteran head coach Fred Whiteside took third in the CCIW meet on October 27 in Normal, Illinois. That was the team’s best finish in the conference since a third in 2003. Hottle narrowly missed being in the top 10, she was 11^th in the individual race with a time of 23:55.

Augustana took 11^th (out of 37 teams) in the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional after being ranked 10^th heading into the meet.

2007 COLLEGE CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS & WISCONSIN WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY MEET

October 27, 2007

Illinois State University Golf Course

Normal, Illinois

TEAM SCORES

INDIVIDUAL TOP 10 (and Augustana finishers)

2007 AUGUSTANA WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY SUPERLATIVES

NCAA DIVISION III INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIER – Liz Driscoll (Lyons Township HS, LaGrange, Ill.) qualified for NCAA Division III national meet with 13^th place finish in Midwest Regional…Driscoll placed 98^th in national meet on November 17 in Northfield, Minnesota.

TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS – First place (of seven) at Mustang Open in Ontario, Canada

TEAM FINISHES – 4^th (of 14) at Illinois Intercollegiates on 09/14/07 in Normal, Illinois…4^th (of 26) at Brissman/Lundeen Invitational on 09/21/07 in Davenport, Iowa…6^th (of 21) at Loyola Lakefront Invitational on 09/29/07 in Chicago, Illinois.

CCIW FINISH – 3^rd (of eight) on 10/27/07 in Normal, Illinois

NCAA DIVISION III MIDWEST REGIONAL FINISH – 11^th (of 37) on 11/10/07 in Winneconne, Wisconsin.

NCAA DIVISION III MIDWEST REGIONAL RANKING – 10^th (heading into NCAA Division III Midwest Regional)

INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN INVITATIONALS

09/02/07 – AUGUSTANA OPEN: Liz Driscoll in 24:33

10/04/07 – MUSTANG OPEN: Liz Driscoll in 14:38

10/20/07 – COE DUAL: Hannah Hottle in 15:37

INDIVIDUAL TOP TEN FINISHES IN INVITATIONALS

09/14/07 - ILLINOIS INTERCOLLEGIATES: 5^th, Liz Driscoll in 18:59.39

09/30/07 - LOYOLA LAKEFRONT INVITATIONAL: 7^th, Liz Driscoll in 19:02

10/04/07 – MUSTANG OPEN: 1^st, Liz Driscoll in 14:38…5^th, Hannah Hottle (Monmouth-Roseville HS, Monmouth, Illinois) in 15:11…10^th, Ellen Adams (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn, Illinois) in 15:48

CCIW INDIVIDUAL HONORS

TOP TEN INDIVIDUAL FINISH – Liz Driscoll, 3^rd at CCIW championship on 10/27/07 with time of 23:16.08

ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE – Melissa Engel, Laura Luloff, Nikki Rohner, Karlene Fox, Ellen Adams, Sarah Blyth, Becca Johanson, Ashley Jones, Samantha Laskowski, Jilian Rigert, Kelsey Unseth, Hannah Hottle, Ella Mathieson, Brittany Prazak, Meaghan Reaney, Kristin Sattizahn, Allison Schaley, Hannah Schneider, Kristina Tranel, Amy Walsh

TEAM AWARDS

MOST VALUABLE RUNNER – Liz Driscoll

MOST IMPROVED RUNNER – Becca Johanson

MOST VALUABLE FRESHMAN – Hannah Hottle

TEAM CAPTAINS 2007 – Liz Driscoll & Melissa Engel

CAPTAINS-ELECT FOR 2008 – Ellen Adams & Samantha Laskowski