Shufeldt and Misterek Earn All-America Honors

Whitworth Cross Country at NCAA Championships Women 6th of 32 (Team Results) Women's Individual Results Men's Individual Results

Joy Shufeldt - All-American

Dana Misterek - All-American

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Whitworth University ran to its highest women's cross country finish ever at a national championship meet as the Pirates finished sixth on Saturday at the NCAA Division III Championships hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College at Highland Park Golf Course.

Joy Shufeldt (Fr., Portland, Ore.) and Dana Misterek (RS So., Gig Harbor, Wash.) earned All-America performances to lead the Whitworth women.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire won the women's title with 171 points. Wendy Pavlus of St. Lawrence was the individual champion, finishing the six kilometer race in 21:28.0.

Shufeldt finished 23rd (16 points) with a time of 22:38.4, while Misterek took 26th (19) in 22:39.4. The top 35 finishers are All-Americans and the pair are Whitworth's first female All-Americans since Leslie Nelson finished 14th in 2003.

Tonya Turner (RS So., Spokane, Wash.) was 76th (50) in 23:24.1 and Katie Williams (Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) was 89th (58) with a time of 23:31.6.

Jo E. Mayer (Sr., Spokane, Wash.) was Whitworth's final scorer, crossing the line 198th (148) with a time of 24:33.1.

Emily Morehouse (Sr., Grants Pass, Ore.) finished 225th (24:58.3) and Kaitlin Hildebrand (Sr., Gig Harbor, Wash.) was 272nd (26:07.5).

Whitworth totaled 291 points. The sixth place finish (out of 32 teams) surpasses Whitworth's 11th place finish at the 1993 NAIA Championships. The Pirates' previous best NCAA place was 22nd in 2002.

Fellow NWC member Whitman finished in 25th place.

"I am very proud of our team," said Whitworth head coach Toby Schwarz. "They stepped to the line with the best teams in the country and never backed down. Joy and Dana raced to win and their all-american performances are well-deserved."

On the men's side, Whitworth's Nick Gallagher (Jr., Bedford, Iowa) finished in 140th place with a time of 27:02.1, while Aaron Jenkins (So., Pocatello, Idaho) took 222nd place in 27:45.3.

North Central (Ill.) won the men's title easily with 50 points. Ricky Flynn of Lynchburg was the individual champion with a time of 25:09.8 over the eight kilometer course.

NWC member Willamette finished in 20th place.