NAIA Highlight Video

A Message From Coach McNeil

CHARLOTTE, N.C.  – The Northwest Christian University women's cross country team finished what they started, claiming NCU's first ever NAIA National Championship as they survived a pre-race scare to conquer the 35-team field. The Beacons top-four runners all earned All-American honors with top-15 finishes.
 
Alyssa Harmon improved upon her sixth-place finish from 2014, taking second place as she missed out on an individual national championship by just eight seconds. Biola's Kellian Hunt came in ahead of her in 17:16 and Harmon crossed the finish line at 17:24, the second-fastest time of her career.
 
CCC Runner of the Year Sierra Brown wasn't far behind, as usual, finishing in fourth place at 17:33, also the second fastest time of her career.
 
Junior Michelle Fletcher was next, crossing the finish line in 10th place with a 17:51 and sophomore Rosa Schmidt ran a 17:54, claiming 13th place and missing a personal record by just ten seconds.
 
Head Coach Heike McNeil, who was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year, was thrilled with the way the lead pack ran, fueled by a strong start by Schmidt. "The start was very physical and the athletes had to fight for their spot and be aggressive right out of the gate. Rosa paved the way and pushed through the first part as the girls funneled into the narrow trail. She was a trooper and led all of our girls out to a successful start. After the first mile, the top four were in position and I knew nothing would change that.
 
The day began on an ominous note as it was determined that junior Shea Vallaire would be unable to race due to lingering effects of a foot injury. One of NCU's top-five runners, and a potential All-American, would not be providing crucial points and someone else would have to step up.  
 
Enter junior Macie Gale and freshman Melissa Rios. The pair started off a considerable distance behind, but started pushing their way forward. "Macie was incredibly patient," said McNeil. "She waited for gaps and then capitalized on them, sneaking past others every time she had an opportunity. The girls heard Shea yelling for them on the course several times which had to be motivating. They all knew they would have to make up a few extra spots for her, and on the last hill I saw Macie passing girls left and right and I knew there was a really good chance we were going to do it."
 
Gale finished in 90th place overall, scoring 74 points in the team race which would be enough as NCU claimed a 20-point win over national runner-up, the University of British Columbia. The Thunderbirds had three All-American finishes and their fourth and fifth runners both came in in top-40, but NCU was able to claim a 98-118 win.
 
Rios finished her debut NAIA race in 147th, coming across in 19:22. She might have been the final Beacon to finish, but adding to the impressive performance for the champions, she still came in ahead of 174 other runners.
 
Biola University took third place (170) followed by Aquinas College in fourth (184) and Carroll in fifth (223). Representing the Cascade Conference, The College of Idaho took eighth, Southern Oregon was 14th and Oregon Tech was 19th.
 
The Beacons polished off the first NAIA National Championship for NCU in any sport. Northwest Christian has been a member of the association since 2006. All eyes will move forward to next year and without a single senior on the roster, anticipation and expectations are sure to be high for the ladies.