Junior Abby Ripperda placed eighth and secured all-Midwest Region honors at the NCAA Midwest Regional held in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Friday.
Ripperda became the third woman in USD history to earn all-Midwest honors as she finished her 6,000 meters in 20:52.3 to place eighth among a field of 235 runners. She joins Coyote alumni Megan Billington (2018) and Amber Eickhorn (2014, 2015) with the honor.
The women’s team finished 14th at the meet, scoring 355 points, while Illinois picked up the women’s title with 108.
Senior Kianna Stewart and juniors Jonna Bart, Laura Nelson and Kelsi Kearney rounded out the women’s scoring five. Stewart posted her second-best time of the season in her final collegiate race, finishing in 21:45.3 to take 42nd. Bart crossed 18 spots behind at 60th in 22:05.1. Nelson secured the 112th position in 22:45.6, while Kearney clocked in at 23:07.7, good for 140th. Junior Callie Logue of Iowa State posted the benchmark for the women, taking first in 20:20.6.
The Coyote men finished in 20th with 573 points as a team. Tulsa, whose women’s team placed second, took first on the men’s side, scoring 37.
Sophomore Merga Gemeda posted the best time on USD’s men’s team, finishing the 10,000-meter course in 32:01.6 to place 49th.
The freshman quartet of Clayton Whitehead, Charlie Babcock, Alec Atwood and Braden Peters filled the rest of the Coyotes’ scoring five spots. Whitehead crossed in 32:46.7 for 90th place, Babcock took 134th at 33:39.0, Atwood clocked 34:21.3 to take 160th, and Peters placed 166th with a time of 34:32.9. Senior Edwin Kurgat, also from Iowa State, paced the men’s pack, placing first in 30:38.3.
Failing to place top-two in both the men’s and women’s events, and not receiving an at-large bid from the NCAA, USD will not participate at this season’s NCAA National Championships. A list of participants, as well as other regional results, can be found here.
