Full Results (.pdf) I Photo Gallery

MACOMB, Ill. - Sophomore Zoey Johnson highlighted a quality day for the IUPUI women's cross country team as the Jaguars finished fourth at the 2016 Summit League Championships at Spring Lake Park on Saturday (Oct. 29). Johnson finished fifth against some stiff competition, becoming IUPUI's first First Team All-Summit finisher since Ana Paez in 2009.

Freshman Katelyn Murphy crossed in 19th overall before a fleet of Jaguars completed the fourth-place effort.

South Dakota won the team title atop a tightly bunched top three, scoring 43 points total. North Dakota State was second at 48 and South Dakota State was third with 55. The Jags finished with 101 points, easily clearing fifth-place Fort Wayne.

"I'm proud of our ladies and how they went out and competed today," IUPUI Head Coach Antonio McDaniel said. "I thought they put themselves out there and in good positions. We need to close up our gaps some more to move up as a team, but I'm proud of our ladies.

"Obviously, I'm really happy for Zoey because we haven't had someone on the first team in a really long time. I think she was kind of surprised in how slow (the race) went out, so she felt like she had to take it out. I was a little concerned, especially with how windy it was, but she ran a really good, steady race. I'm happy for her because she's worked so hard."

Johnson went straight to the front of the pack and extended her lead over the course of the opening 2,000 meters before finally getting reeled in near the midpoint of the race. However, she held strong throughout and was the only runner not from South Dakota, North Dakota State or South Dakota State among the top 13 finishers. The Seymour, Ind.-native crossed at 21:49.3, good for the sixth-best time in program history.

Murphy crossed at 22:44.0 and the remaining calvary began with sophomore Amairany Cruz in 24th at 23:04.4. Valeria Guzman was 26th at 23:10.9 and true freshman Shelby Pake was 27th at 23:11.2. Sophomore Alexis Lewandowski placed 28th at 23:12.5.

SDSU's Emily Donnay won Championship MVP honors at 21:05.9, defeating teammate Rachel King by just under seven seconds.

The Jags will next compete at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, Nov. 11 in Verona, Wisc..

Team Standings
1. South Dakota - 43
2. North Dakota State - 48
3. South Dakota State - 55
4. IUPUI - 101
5. Fort Wayne - 149
6. Omaha - 163
7. Oral Roberts - 187
8. Western Illinois - 223

Individual Results
5. Zoey Johnson - 21:49.3
19. Katelyn Murphy - 22:44.0
24. Amairany Cruz - 23:04.4
26. Valeria Guzman - 23:10.9
27. Shelby Pake - 23:11.2
28. Alexis Lewandowski - 23:12.5
36. Haley Welch - 23:35.0
42. Kelsey Tyler - 23:56.6
44. Savannah Clark - 24:02.4