Oregon Tech Women Capture First NAIA National Championship
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CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – In a field of 36 teams and 340 runners, the Oregon Tech women's cross country team finished first to capture the NAIA National Championship Friday, the first in school history in cross country.
Head Coach Jack Kegg said, "I am so proud of these young ladies. They did a great job of controlling the pressure of being rated number one late in the season and took it as a challenge to finish with the title."
The Owls were led by Seniors Susie Garza (17:36), Cindy Reed (17:37), and Danielle De Castro (17:49) as they finished 4th ,5th, and 12th respectively, garnering All-American status.
Senior Annika Anderson (18:25) and Freshman Faith Widman (18:29) came up big for the Owls as they both improved by 10 or more places over the last mile to help seal the title for Oregon Tech.
The National Championship was the third for the Cascade Conference in Women's Cross Country and first since Northwest Christian won it in 2015 and Northwest in 2002.
