The William & Mary women's cross country team turned in one of its strongest performances of the year on Friday at the Southeast Region Championships, upsetting three more-highly ranked teams to finish 12th overall in the 34-team event.  The Tribe, which was ranked 15th in the region coming into the meet, scored 363 points for its 12th-place showing, which was the team's best finish since 2016 and a full seven places better than a year ago.  National No. 5 North Carolina State won the meet with 48 points, while No. 14 Furman also secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships in second place with 83 points.  Individually, N.C. State's Elly Henes took top honors in the 6K race, running 19:48.9 to win by six seconds.

For the Tribe, senior Charlotte Kowalk (Ijamsville, Md.) led the way in 51st overall, running 21:25.0.  She finished just a step ahead of freshman Emma Rogers (Roanoke, Va.), who was 52nd in 21:26.1, while junior Lauren Finikiotis (Gibsonia, Pa.) crossed the finish in 22:01.2 for 86th overall.  Grad student Rachel Snyder (Purcellville, Va.) was fourth for the Tribe in her final cross country race, running 22:06.3 for 92nd, and Liv Paxton (Rock Hill, S.C.) was close behind in 99th to finish the scoring with a time of 22:13.3.  Redshirt-sophomore Taylor D. Jones (Virginia Beach, Va.) ran 22:21.4 for 111th, and redshirt-junior Deirdre Lewin (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) rounded out the line-up in 162nd overall, stopping the clock in 23:00.4.

With the cross country season now complete, William & Mary will have a few weeks off before turning its attention to the indoor track.  The Tribe will begin the winter campaign on Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md.

2019 Southeast Region Championships - 6K
Panorama Farms - Charlottesville, Va.

Team Finish
1. #5 North Carolina State 48
2. #14 Furman 83
4. #23 Virginia Tech 116
4. RV Wake Forest 133
5. SE7 Duke 154
6. SE5 North Carolina 162
7. SE12 Virginia 250
8. SE8 Kentucky 291
9. SE6 Elon 317
10. SE14 Clemson
11. SE10 High Point 356
12. SE15 William & Mary 363
13. SE9 Liberty 367
14. Charlotte 375
15. South Carolina 417
16. SE11 Eastern Kentucky 431
17. Appalachian State 479
18. Richmond 494
19. East Carolina 530
20. James Madison 574
21. Wofford 604
22. UNC Greensboro 608
23. Davidson 647
24. Charleston Southern 661
25. George Mason 668
26. College of Charleston 737
27. VCU 738
28. Radford 761
29. Morehead State 832
30. Northern Kentucky 833
31. Murray State 947
32. UNCW 997
33. UNC Asheville 1,013
34. USC Upstate 1,033
-- SE13 Louisville DNF

Top Five Finishers
1. Elly Henes (NCST) 19:48.9
2. Gabrielle Jennings (FUR) 19:55.0
3. Savannah Carnahan (FUR) 20:02.5
4. Kelsey Chmiel (NCST) 20:02.6
5. Hannah Steelman (WOFF) 20:08.1

W&M Finishers
51. Charlotte Kowalk 21:25.0
52. Emma Rogers 21:26.1
86. Lauren Finikiotis 22:01.2
92. Rachel Snyder 22:06.3
99. Liv Paxton 22:13.3
111. Taylor D. Jones 22:21.4
162. Deirdre Lewin 23:00.4